Between Shades of Gray

between shades of grey
ruta sepetys
read: february 2012

recommendation: historically important, so read it! ;)

This book came to be highly recommended - not only was it short listed for a bunch of awards, but it's about a girl being shipped off to Sibera during the Second World War. Right up my alley, I thought. However, I had a difficult time with it. I kept waiting for something MORE.

I think this book would have been much stronger without the little flashbacks.

That said, it would take almost half the book away.

In a sense, I felt like this book was trying to be too much at once - The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and something about Russian/Lithuanian history all at once. The story was interesting and strong enough on its own. And really, I wanted to know more about why the north pole! What were they doing up there? I never got a good answer.

The writing is strong and clear, just like Lina, who is a character you can relate to. I liked her relationship with her brother, and her mother, and her drawings. I just wanted more - of those characters, of the relationship, of the time, of the story itself. I felt like we had glimpses, and I am sometimes very greedy. It is a strong story, with heart and sorrow and hope, and that is very reflective of the reality of the time.

I guess also some of it felt heavy handed and scripted (the bald man, anyone? Am I the only one that saw that from his introduction?) but. You also have to remember that I have a very strong stomach for death and violence in writing (reading these things as primary sources will do that to a person) so that didn't hit me in the same way it seems to have hit a lot of people. Sometimes I think you read one book about prisoners on a train and you've read them all. This book had potential to be different though, because of the setting and the different circumstances and Stalin, not Hitler. I do think it lost a little of its specialness by not fully exploring those differences. Also, it's important to remember I studied this stuff for years, so I am once again, biased.

It tells a very important story that a lot of people haven't even thought of before, and for that alone, it deserves its accolades. Read it if you don't know anything about the non-German side of the war, and read it because it exists, and books like this should to be read, even if you find yourself wanting more. It's an easy read in terms of comprehension and the quality of writing, not so easy if you aren't used to reading books about horrible situations, fairly graphic scenes of violence and death, and what war can do to people and families and so called friends. Then again, that IS war, so it's high time we start recognizing it for what it is.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz (2010)

please ignore vera dietz
a.s. king
read: january 2012

recommendation: four out of five. definitely worth your time, and not just because it won a printz.

"Which zen guy said, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" That's how I feel without Charlie. Like one hand clapping."

I am late the party on this one, but better late than never! (I was possibly a little overdosing on "teens dealing with deaths of loved ones" and needed a break until now.)

I liked Vera. I really did. I liked how Vera never relented that she knew Charlie, the Charlie from before, the Charlie that was her best friend. And I liked Vera's dad. I might possibly love Vera's dad the most.

Most of all I think I loved the almost B plot of the parents - what is okay to talk about and what isn't, and how those messages get relayed to kids. How hard it is to know when a line has been crossed and when you need to say something, how difficult it is to find those words, especially when you don't want to lose your friend.

Maybe this book will encourage more kids to use their voices. To not ignore the Veras and Charlies. To listen to the Pagoda's of the world, and the Georgia's, and maybe adults will learn that kids have an innate ability to tell when something is seriously wrong, and they have not been conditioned by society to ignore or act differently. They simply know, and they want to make it better.

This book was clever, inventive, and oh-so-teenage. These kids talk like kids, and Vera is achingly real - in her grief, her struggles, and her self. She feels like someone you could know.

Circumstances aren't always the best. Ignoring things doesn't mean they go away.

But change is always possible. If even one person walks away from this book truly believing that statement, this book has given us all a fabulous gift by sharing this incredibly hard but real truth.

(Just look at a flow chart. You might go back to the beginning, but you get to start again.)

(And who doesn't love a book with flow charts?! People who despite John Green not included!)

A Curse as Dark as Gold (2008)

a curse as dark as gold
elizabeth c. bunce
read: february 2009

recommendation: definitely read, whether from the library or buying it, just read this book!

I don't usually seek out retellings of fairy-tales, but I heard good things about this one from people's opinions I respect, not to mention all the awards it won. And "Rumplestilskein" is one of my favorite stories, so there was added incentive to pick it up.

Note: Because of this book, I started to actively seek out more fantasy styled fiction, and I haven't looked back yet!

In the town of Shearing, there is a mill, run by the Miller family. Stirwaters has been in the family for generations and is the heart of this town, set in late 18th century England. When Mr. Miller dies, the mill falls in the hands of his daughters, Charlotte and Rosie.

And then everything at the mill starts to fall apart, no matter how hard Charlotte tries to hold things together. There are people who work for her that rely on her for their livelihood - the town itself relies on the mill. When things are at their worst, a mysterious man named Jack Spinner appears, with a promise to weave thread of actual gold - perfect for the cloth Charlotte needs to sell to save the mill.

But as is true of all stories like these, everything comes at a cost. The story brilliantly works with all the responsibilities Charlotte has to deal with, and to what lengths she will go to save her mill, her town, and her family. It's a ghost story inside historical fiction all wrapped up with a magical fairy tale bow.

There's so much to like about this story - first, it's fantastically historically accurate. The contrast of Shearing versus Pinchfields was beautiful, as it's so the story of cottage industries compared with the beginnings of industrialization. It's so seemlessly done you don't even realize what you are reading.

Second, the female characters are strong, brilliant, flawed and intelligent. Charlotte and Rosie are smart and clever, as well as possessing big hearts. This book passed the Bechdel Test a million times over.

Third, it actually makes the fairy-tale better, in my opinion. It makes it make sense. The gold spinner character actually has motivation other than wanting to steal little babies! Making the creepy little gnome sympathetic? A brilliant move.

Fourth, there's love, and there are male/female relationships, but they aren't fairy-tale perfect - they are realistic. (Especially of the time.) Which to weighs more - your home life or your new married life? How much to share with your new spouse, with your family, with your workers? What is the burden of responsibility and what does it actually mean when you marry someone? It's especially important to remember because Charlotte is so YOUNG, which can easily be forgotten. Rosie's only fourteen herself, which is a tiny side-note throw away line - but these two girls feel the weight of the village on their shoulders - and in a way, it is. As someone who is quite tired of books that Have To Have Romance, this was a great reprieve - the romance was there, but not forced, and it required work, as most relationships do.

Not to mention how much I loved everything that was going on with the girls' uncle on the side, and how he made so much of the story without overtaking it. The townspeople, the whole thing - every note seemed to be right in this. There's just the right amount of creepiness and horror and shock and panic and love and sensibility and everything. It's a very well-balanced book.

I really, really loved "A Curse as Dark as Gold" and can't say enough about it. Give it a try - past the first 100 pages if you aren't someone like me who finds a slow build immensely satisfying in the end. (I think this is why I root for the late closers in horse racing, and the teams that are behind in sports. Who doesn't love a ninth inning rally?!) I actually found myself feeling fond of Jack Spinner, and I can't say enough about Charlotte and Randall and how note-perfect almost everything was.

The plot at the beginning of the book is a bit slow, but press on, reader! Take the time to enjoy what you are reading too, and the fact that you are learning, because the historical accuracy is amazing. (Try convincing your social studies/world history teacher that this should count toward your class!)

I fell in love with these characters, and I think you will too.