A Jumpstart to your Shopping List

Ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is 66 days away. For some of you, that's 65 days to put off shopping, but I get the feeling that others may be making your lists now. Let me help you out!

Me Before You

Novel by Jojo Moyes

Did you read The Fault in Our Stars yet? If you're buying for a mature teenager, check that one out. This is the adult version. The premise is a little dreadful--a young British woman goes to work as a daytime helper for a wealthy quadriplegic. Her employer was once an important business man and world traveler, but now wants to die because his life is so limited. You know it could end so badly but you just fall in love with all the characters, as unlikely as that is, and end up crossing your toes under the blankets that it will turn out ok. Reading it is a bit like watching an old favorite tear jerker movie, like the scenes in "Sleepless in Seattle" when all the women are crying over "An Affair to Remember." A modern classic, really.

The right to die issue is getting some new press right now with the woman in Oregon who wants to end her life due to the pain of her brain tumor. This book brings another interesting perspective on it, and keeps you wondering who the "me" in the title really is. I also think of the arguments surrounding Robin Williams's death and those who called it him brave to face his depression versus those who called him selfish to kill himself. I wonder if any of us can really say what we would do, since we are not in the same circumstances, can never be in exactly the same circumstances as someone else. The two main characters in MBY have this argument again and again, with more information about each person spiraling out until you agree with them both, and love them to the core.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Novel by Maria Semple

For the snarky person on your Christmas list! The writer of this novel used to write for sitcoms like "Mad About You" and her sharp wit transfers super well to this type fiction. She totally skewers Seattle society--the uptight parents and private schools but supposedly casual culture, the Microsoft drive for success and the bureaucracy it creates, the focus on arts in a bit of an artistic vacuum. The stabs are delivered subtly because the story is told by an eighth grade girl via her mother's and others' emails and testimonies. It's not confusing at all, though. It's actually completely clever, just like the humor.

The main story is that the title character is a SAHM (stay at home mom, for those not up on their suburban lingo) who has a supposed break with reality, in conjunction with several minor crises, and disappears. She leaves behind her daughter (the 8th grader) and her husband (the Microsoft exec) and a falling apart mansion (the crumbling artistic endeavors) and angry PTA members (the uptight parents and private schools) struggling to both find her and understand who she really is. Part of the cleverness is that you, the reader, are also figuring out who Bernadette is, not in a Sherlocky way but in a "Is she crazy or isn't she" way. I loved the characterization and psychology as much as the humor and Seattle culture.

Side note: My three year old is super interested in what things say right now since he's learning that letters make sounds and words. He asked the title of the book I was reading and then walked around repeating "Where'd ya go, Bernadette" in a creepy monotone every time he laid eyes on the book. Fun times.

The Sweetness of Forgetting

Novel by Kristin Harmel

Today I told my students that I have written a novel. They were duly impressed. I told them about the nights I've spent writing, revising, and sending the dang thing to 80 some agents (none of whom were as impressed as my dear seventh graders). I told them this as a way of inspiring them to revise their own writing and to show them I'm in it with them. I told them this because they'd rather listen to me tell them something personal and real than read to them out of a text book about why revising is important.

But I didn't tell them the truth, that deep down I am terrified I will never get published and also that not so deep down I am extremely jealous of those who have.

So when I read a book like this one, with a sweet story and a few good twists, I have a hard time enjoying it. Because the whole time I'm thinking I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS. I'M AS GOOD A WRITER AS THIS KRISTIN PERSON. WHY DID SHE GET PUBLISHED AND NOT ME? WHEN'S IT MY TURN? WHY DID KRISTIN HARMEL WIN THE PUBLISHING LOTTERY? WHY GOD WHY?

It's not pretty, I know, and also not why you read this blog, so I'll just step past the green eyed monster here and try to share a little about this book. But now you know, if I sound just this side of nice, it's because part of me wants to kick Kristen Harmel in the shin, and then ask for the name of her agent.

The Sweetness of Forgetting starts with a sob story; Hope's husband left her, her teenage daughter hates her, her mother recently died, her grandma is getting lost in Alzheimers, and her family owned bakery is failing. So sad. When Hope's grandma Rose has a moment of clarity, she reveals a secret about her background that sends Hope on an ill-timed trip to Paris to discover family she didn't know she had. There's a lot of baking, World War II connections, and some interesting religious talking points. It ends happily and neatly. Sounds like my kind of story, huh? Yep. Exact for that bitter pill being hard to swallow.

Rant over.

September, the Black Hole of Reading

When you write a blog about the books you read, everyone assumes you want to talk about it. In public. In church.


Let me explain.

My dad is the associate pastor of our church and he opened one of his messages recently by asking people the title of the best book they'd read recently. And then looked straight at me and said, "You blog about books, Kelsey. What have you read?"

I blanked. Maybe it's because it was September and I was reading pre-tests on theme and narrative, along with books on how to communicate better with adolescents, and basically falling into bed at night instead of actually reading. Or maybe it was the on-the-spot thing. But the only thing I could think of was the last book I'd read, not the BEST book I'd read. And it happened to be a book on changes in modern theology called A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McClaren, RECOMMENDED BY MY DAD. I'm sure I sounded like a total suck up. And worse, I haven't even finished it. See the sentence about it being September. And all my previous statements about me and non-fiction.

So, yeah, don't ask me to cite my favorite books on the spot or before parent-teacher conferences. You might get an open-mouthed stare in return.

The upside is that I was publically shamed into reading again and just finished a GREAT book as a result. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a sweet story made all the better because it was an accidental find in the book club section of the library (I can't say enough good things about that shelf! It's not stealing from the book clubs; it's random selections of the ones available to book clubs, so it's like a pre-sorted shelf of great choices). So maybe you all know about this book already, but it was a surprise gift to me.

Harold Fry is an ordinary retired Englishman with an unhappy wife who cleans too much. One day he receives a letter from a long lost friend, telling him goodbye as she is dying of cancer. He sets out to mail a response to her and decides suddenly to walk the hundreds of miles to visit her, believing she will live as long as he walks. Amazing premise. And it gets better, as the author uses Harold's ordinary heroism to celebrate the ordinary uniqueness of everyone he meets. Harold has ups and downs in his journey (similar to Cheryl Strayed in Wild and, strangely, to Forrest Gump's run across the country) that are quite expected and yet luminous at the same time. It's a book of contradictions and seamlessness. It's the kind of book I long to write.

I won't tell you if he finishes his walk, or if his friend lives, just as I won't tell you the outcome of his relationship with his son, or if he patches things up with his wife. I will tell you, though, that you'll want to walk across England yourself, or visit some of the historic spots he stumbles upon, or maybe just try to see the people you stumble upon with a bit of the grace that Harold does.

And how I wish I'd read this book earlier and could have shared it with my church that day, because in the humanity and the pain and the grace, there is love.

I'm going to keep the two non-fiction books on my nightstand and read them in bits, but I'm also ready and needing to go back to my beloved novels. And I have a stack! What should I enjoy first? I've got The Sweetness of Forgetting (thanks, Aunt Pat), Where'd You Go, Bernadette (who recommended this?), and Me Before You (thanks, Kelsey and Taunya).

Fail blog

In an unprecedented move, I have quit three books this month, almost right in a row. Fail. Total fail. I come from a long line of non-book quitters. That isn't to say we aren't sometimes quitters in general. I have quit sports, diets, New Year's Resolutions..pretty much things that require physical discipline. But books? Usually I see the bad ones through to the end, just in case they redeem themselves.

Not this time. I don't know if it's me or the books. Actually, it's probably my kids. Let's blame them for my divided attention and lack of grace. It's hard to spend precious alone-time reading a book I don't like, and hard to have patience with unrelatable characters when I practive patience with actual live small people all day long.

So here's the list: three fails and one goody. Judge for yourself whether they are worth your precious time.

The Antiquarian

Novel by Gustavo Faveron Patriau

I think this is some kind of intellectual murder mystery. The beginning was so much character development, though, that I lost interest. Also I think the author is from South America and in my experience those books usually have an intense emotional quality that I can't understand or appreciate, like The Alchemist. With the exception of Isabel Allende, I think I'm just not smart enough for these books. So I only got a couple of pages into this one and decided it was not for me.

The Financial Lives of Poets
Novel by Jess Walter

What a disappointment I am. This author is amazing. Beautiful Ruins? Absolutely loved it. One of the best books I read last year. We Live In Water  was great for a collection of short stories (which is just not my favorite genre). The thing about this book, though, is that it opened like one of his short stories. Too much reality. I read to escape worries about money and jobs and every day life in general. I imagine that this book gets better and that I'm majorly missing out by not reading it, and maybe I'll come back to it (not likely) but for now, pass.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Novel by Khaled Hosseini

Don't freak out on me-- I didn't quit this one. Almost...but it grabbed me. I read Hosseini's The Kite Runner at the recommendation of my cousin who was stationed in Afghanistan and while both of these books are just so devastating, they are worth it. The complicated history of Afghanistan is made comprehensible to me for the first time, but it's far from just a history lesson. The harsh reality of the country is wrapped up in a lovely, heartbreaking, bold story of two women and their unlikely relationship. There is disgusting, horrifying hatred that is tempered and eventually destroyed by deep love. I was reading this as the news was coming out about the violence in Iraq and it made both events more real to me in my safe little home. The world is so horrible at times but those that help others in the worst of times are what make those events bearable. I would love to talk in more detail to someone who has read this book and compare reactions.

The Girls
Novel by Lori Lansens

Another quitter. Sorry, Grandma, but I just can't stomach the weirdness of the conjoined twins. It's such an interesting premise and I think at another time I may have enjoyed the book. But readers know that I have a lot of anxiety about my kids that comes and goes in waves and right now it's peaking a little. While conjoinment is clearly not something I need to worry about now that my kids are born, it still makes me anxious about all the things that can go wrong in their delicate little bodies. Plus, you just know that there can't be a happy ending to this story. So again, not right now.

And with that list of failures, I don't actually have anything to look forward to reading. I am currently reading a book by Brian McClaren about changes in the church (A New Kind of Christianity), and I have the other true story of Downton Abby book, plus I think I'm going to request Where'd You Go, Bernadette from the library because I've heard such good things about it. I'm interested in The Boys in the Boat for the same reason. But I'm also looking for some light hearted reads while school is starting up. My ego can't take too many more failures.

The Vacation List

Ten days, a lake, snacks galore, grandparents...the recipe for a good reading vacation. I ransacked the library and my personal wait-list for the very best vacation reads and was not disappointed.

Cinder and Scarlet: Books 1 and 2 of the Lunar Chronicles

Teen Fiction by Marissa Meyer

Another my-students-made-me-read-it, but this time with good reason. I was hesitant because the covers, and even the author's name, remind me of Twilight and I have had it up.to.here with Twilight-esque fiction. That's just the marketing here, thank goodness. These books are a great departure from the norm, for the most part, of what I'm seeing in young adult/teen fiction. The author takes fairy tales (Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, and apparently I can look forward to Rapunzel in the third book) and plops them into a futuristic version of Earth, with powerful personalities and interesting forms (Cinderella is a cyborg--what? I had to look that up). I admit it wasn't love at first sight because of some clunky writing but after about a third of the first book I was hooked. Highly recommend for teens (boys and girls) and those who like archetypes turned on their heads. The only surprise that is becoming less surprising is some hot and heavy kissing in the second book. I think I'm going to have to talk to my daughter about this stuff way too soon based on the books she'll be reading. Does anyone else see this as a growing trend in YA books, or am I just more sensitive to it now that I have a tweenager?

The Kitchen House
Fiction by Kathleen Grissom

Has everyone read this book except me? It came out a few years ago, but suddenly I just started seeing the title everywhere. It's a first novel by this author and is stunningly written. However, I almost quit because it just seemed too hard. Not difficult to understand, but difficult to sleep at night after reading. A young Irish girl loses her parents to illness while crossing to America in the early 1800's and is taken on as an indentured servant by the southern, slave-owning captain. She grows up with the black slaves but is suddenly treated as a white woman when events take a turn. Everyone, and I mean everyone, suffers in this book. It is heart wrenching from start to finish. I loved the people, though, really loved them not as characters but as my sisters and grandmothers, so I kept reading. Just guard your heart as you read.

The Sea House
Fiction by Elisabeth Gifford

It just struck me that this title also ends in "house" and is also a debut novel. It's funny how titles comes in waves, like all of the "so and so's wife" books that I read last year (check it out here). I think if I had to pick a favorite vacation read, this would be it. I handed it off to my grandma (take that back to the library when you're done, please, GG) because she was out of books and I really enjoyed it. There's a parallel story of two occupants of the same house on a Scottish island; the lives of a minister in the 1800's and a young couple in the 1990's intertwine in surprising, mysterious, yet sweet ways. I love the idea of telling stories about the same house, which has been done in multiple books by Anita Shreve, one of which is The Pilot's Wife (oh, the trends). I also love stories about England, as you know. This book just kind of did it for me. I hope my grandma liked it, too.

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The Patron Saint of Liars
Fiction by Ann Patchett

Oh, but Ann Patchett is amazing. This is her first and I didn't know it existed. What a find. A young, pregnant, but married woman goes to a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky in 1969 and never leaves. The characters are rich, the story telling is simple but woven well, and the idea is just so interesting. I'm going to give this one directly to my mom, so I suppose I'd have to say it's my second favorite of the month. The only disappointment was the abrupt ending. You just KNOW there's more to the story. Does the daughter find out a secret she almost guesses? Does the mom...I can't say. Aarg. Read it! Comment!

I still have a few library books waiting to be read, plus some research books for my next manuscript (a history of adoption in Washington State, and a book on the Society of Friends Church aka Quakers). I'm working on my query letter to send my first manuscript out to agents AGAIN. There's always so much to read and write, and never enough time!

Two things you should always...never...whatever

Have you noticed that headlines are kind of ridiculous these days? Yeah, I may have tricked you a little with my own headline there. Sorry. I've heard it called "clickbait," the use of words like "You won't believe what happens" or "This will change your life" or "The ten things you should never... " I have to admit I was suckered for a while but now I'm on to them. Occasionally I'll find a site with really interesting pictures, but for the most part I hate the let-down of whatever follows the outrageous claims made by the headline. That's one thing I like about books. For the most part, they are what the appear to be. I don't believe in the cliche "Never judge a book by its cover." Not literally, anyway. If you read the cover carefully and let the images give you a sense of it, it's mostly what you expect. Occasionally, it's better, but rarely is it worse. The books below are an example of one that was better and one that was exactly what I expected (but I read it anyway). So read! It will change your life! You'll never believe...oh never mind, you're already on this site.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

History by The Countess of Carnarvon 

I LOVE the tv show "Downton Abbey," as does almost everyone I know who has seen it. If you haven't seen it, don't judge, just watch. So my in-laws, who I got addicted to the show, bought me this, but I've put off reading it because...history. The book is the historical account of the real countess of the real castle that Downtown is based upon. But wait, I only read novels, remember? However, I picked it up a few weeks ago when I didn't have anything else to read (dire situation, I know) and I'm happy to say I was wrong. Even though it's written by a celebrity, the current countess of the real castle, which didn't bode well, and even though it's TRUE, this is a great story. Lady Almina is a crazy but caring woman who was a bit of an unintentional feminist and you can't help but love her. Also, the events the family was involved in are mind blowing! Maybe it's normal for the extremely rich to have their fingers in major world events, just because they're rich enough to be involved, but still...King Tut's tomb? At one point, the Duke's brother is asked to become king of an Eastern European country. ASKED TO BECOME KING. But his older brother said no, what a bummer. Those are the events, and people like Almina herself are the characters, that make this book so readable. I do wonder, however, how much of these portraits are painted in a more flattering light than real life. After all, it's written by the current countess, who is a little invested in protecting the family name. Even so, it's a good story. There's a second one as well about Lady Almina's daughter in law, the next countess, which I'll read eventually. I don't want to read TOO much history on my vacation. Oh, and if you feel the same but want to read something Downton-ish, try this one.

Tiger's Curse

Young Adult fiction by Colleen Houck

You know I like YA books, and in fact I'm very excited to read the Lunar Chronicles, whose author visited my school this spring. This one, though, I could tell by name and cover was not going to be my favorite one. It was STRONGLY recommended by one of my students, who had recommended The Night Circus, which I loved, so I was willing to go with her on it. Suffice it to say, this is the first of a series of four and I will not be reading the others. Sorry, Lily. I tried. The upsides to this book are that it's set mostly in India and deals with a lot of mythology, so I learned about another culture and enjoyed that aspect of it. It's also fast paced since it's YA. Downsides? It's a Twilight wannabe. A very ordinary girl meets and falls for a not quite human creature--an extremely handsome and rich young man who never ages, falls in love with her despite their differences, is possessive, obsessive, and refrains from killing her though he easily could. It may be appealing to young women but it is not, in my opinion, a very healthy example of a loving relationship. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone without a firm grasp on reality, which is to say, not to a thirteen year old girl. There's also the problem that the writing sucks. Some might think that YA books are bound to be a little lower in their readability, but I haven't found that be true. There's just good writing and bad, and this is the second. 

Whew. Criticizing is hard. I don't actually like doing it. And as I said, I really shouldn't, because I knew what I was getting into. 

I can't remember anything anymore

What was the last book you read and what did you think about it? And the one before that? And the two or three before that? Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to stress you out, just looking for a little solidarity here. Because I can't remember anything anymore. Really, anything. I used to be so on top of things and then my third child came along and now I have mush for brains. So I thought it would be okay, I could keep blogging and maybe even write creatively now and again. Nope. The last time I blogged I couldn't even remember the title of two books in a row. This time I'm pretty sure I can remember the last two books I've read but not so much what I thought about them. You're going to have to help me out here.

The Invention of Wings
Novel by Sue Monk Kidd

I do remember the first book I read by this author, The Secret Life of Bees, which was delightful, and her second, The Mermaid Chair, which I almost hated. It was really weird. My mom liked it so maybe I judge too harshly but I remember being pretty put off, though I couldn't tell you why. This book, her third novel, seems very different from both of her previous books, but I liked it. I remember that much, anyway. The cover is deceiving, in my opinion. I think it looks like a more flimsy story, maybe about an island and some girl who learns something about herself over the summer. Something about the title and the birds makes me think that. This book, however, is nearly the opposite of that. It's almost heavy in its well-researched fictionalization of a historical figure, a Southern woman who worked for the anti-slavery movement and women's rights, and her (I think entirely fictional) slave-slash-friend. It also dwelled on Quakerism for a while, reminded me of The Last Runaway in that regard. And that's all I've got. I remember having some pretty important thoughts while reading it, something about women's rights then and today, and writing fiction versus non-fiction, and some clever things to say about symbolism. But it's gone. At least I got the title right.

The Language of Flowers
Novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Okay, I may be able to do better on this one because I just finished it two days ago, and I really loved it. It was easy and homey and yet educational all at once. The main character, Victoria, is a foster child aging out of the system and transitioning to living on her own. She embraces her new freedom by living in a park, surrounded by plants, the only things she knows anymore after years of group homes. She amazingly finds a job at a florist and begins an emotional journey opening up (slowly) to people who want to help her and going back in her memories to the one foster home she loved, where she learned to communicate through flowers.

What fascinated me about this is the psyche of the narrator, who has attachment disorder. She doesn't trust anyone and can hardly even talk, except in an outdated language of the romantic meaning of flowers. She makes irrational decisions that seem to make complete sense when you hear it from her point of view. She shrinks from touch and steals and destroys yet lovingly prepares bouquets for strangers. I'd almost find it unbelievable if I didn't have students who exhibit the same strange array of emotional disturbance and endearing traits. I love that Diffenbaugh brings two disparate ideas together: flowers and foster care. I knew little about either, at least little compared to the depth of emotional understanding presented by the book. But don't get me wrong, it's not in the least bit overwhelming. Maybe intense at times, but pleasantly so. You just have a feeling, with all the people who are pulling for Victoria at the time of the story, that it's going to work out for her.

If only that were so for all our foster kids.

Whew. Maybe I do have a few brain cells left. Just a few. But please, please, please, comment on the last few books you read and what was memorable about them. It will make me feel better to know I'm not the only one with short term memory loss and it will give me books to stock up on for summer!

The Goldfinch

Novel by Donna Tartt

I haven't blogged since March 19? What? I knew it had been a long time but I guess I didn't realize I'd slacked that much. And before you start judging me or wondering if I'm slipping, it's not because I wasn't reading in all that time. Well, mostly not because of that. I read two books in the last month and a half. And the second one was so.very.long that I can't even remember what the first one was. Honestly. I'm trying and I can't recall. I feel like I've been reading The Goldfinch for about a year. The library probably feels that way, too, since they keep emailing and asking for it back.

I suppose that's what I get for tackling a recent Pulitzer Prize-winning 700-page masterpiece-behemoth just as the sun is gracing us with its presence and both my pasty skin and pasty children are asking to go outside all the time. More playing, less reading, which generally is good for everyone (except my library status).

So now you know that you shouldn't begin this book unless you have a serious amount of time on your hands, plus strong hands in general because it's so heavy (literally). Here's a few other things it might help to know, courtesy of my mistakes and ignorance.

A) The story is about a boy who steals a painting after a tragic accident in a museum. All that is disclosed very early on. What I did not know is that this is a real painting. I thought surely it was made up because it is so central to the story, the author wouldn't fictionally DO all those things to a real painting. And also because I'd never heard of it, and I think I know a few things about art, but apparently not.

B) Everyone I talk to agrees that the book could be about 200 pages shorter. I wonder, though, if it would sort of stick with you the way it does if it was shorter. We basically grow up with the main character and he is all kinds of messed up, in a way that as a teacher and parent makes me cringe and gasp and cry for him. It's at times understated, his grief and depression, and other times incredibly stark, his drug use and lack of parenting and moral guidance. And even though it was almost more than I wanted to know, you really do know him, could probably recognize him if you saw him on the street because you would know his eyes and his soul.

C) It's definitely literary. I mean, it won the Pulitzer, but it also has that "important book" quality about it in the way it combines modern culture and art history and characterization to the max and intriguing story. I wasn't expecting such a heavy book (figuratively this time) because of its mass marketing. It makes me feel a wee bit dumb, actually, to read a bestseller and have it be a bit above my head in some places.

All in all, I'm glad I read it, but I'm more glad to have read it (to borrow an idea from Glennon Doyle Melton, the satisfaction in having done something more than in actively doing it). I'd love to hear what you think, either because you are in the have read it club or because you're thinking of reading it. Just don't ask too much about the end. I was so relieved to be almost done that I pretty much skimmed the last five pages.

From the bestseller list

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my library? They should pay me for mentioning them so much in this widely popular blog. Except that they lend me books for free...so really I should be paying them...not really making much of a case for myself here. Moving on.

Recently there have been so many new books out that I want to read, and there's this beautiful thing where, with a few clicks of my mouse, I can get these brand new fancy pants hard back books delivered straight to my mailbox in a gorgeous purple cloth envelope. I do a little happy dance every time one arrives. I'm not sure my mail carrier is as thrilled, since I don't bring my mail in very often and that box gets pretty full.

The two I've read most recently thanks to this ingenious system are The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

I would have to say I usually enjoy Amy Tan but don't rave over her. Her books offer that glimpse into another culture that I so enjoy. What I find interesting about her is that her focus is sometimes Chinese culture and sometimes Chinese American culture. Multiculturalism and the questioning nature of people raised with multiple ethnic backgrounds is a really important theme to Tan. This story includes the best of both, as a young American girl in China is forced into the life of a courtesan, which is a fancy prostitute. The characters make it clear that in Chinese culture of the 1920's, courtesans and prostitutes are not the same, but Tan makes even more clear that no matter what you call it, the sex industry is an evil perpetrated against women. In the cultural and romantic side of the story, it's similar to Memoirs of a Geisha, but I love that Tan tries hard not to glamorize powerless women being forced as children to become sex workers. Also, she does it all in a pretty package and with complex characters.

While I kind of labored over The Valley of Amazement, I finished The Fault in Our Stars in a few days. This young adult novel just totally slayed me. I cried for about 45 minutes at the end and made my husband hug me for a long time. It's still totally worth it. The synopsis will tell you why I cried: two teenage cancer patients meet, fall in love, change each other's lives, and have an ending that is hinted at in the Shakespearean title. The writing is why it's worth it: I have never loved two teenage characters more. These kids are fantastic. They're who I hope my children become, witty and respectful and compassionate and friends with their parents and completely their own selves. It also helps that cancer is the only bad guy in this book. You can truly love everyone else. Well, almost everyone. There's sort of an anti-hero. But the rest of them are awesome parents, funny and supportive friends, and the two main characters who I can't wait to see in the movie version because I just want to hear them talk some more. Worth the tears, believe me.

Next up on my nightstand (in this order since this is the order in which they are overdue): Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, and The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. That's a lot of names with double letters.

Finishing the Divergent series

Insurgent, Book #2

Allegiant, Book #3

Young Adult novels by Veronica Roth

You won't like the last one, they said. The ending is terrible, they said. I have to read it anyway, I said. I have to finish the series. But I did what I do. I read the ending first.

Let me back up here. You can read my thoughts on the first book in the series here. These young adult novels are the next big thing after Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games. Yeah, That Big. The movie of the first book comes out next month. And I must agree, the first and second book live up to the hype. The writing is a little clunky, in my opinion, but written at an appropriate level for the young adult crowd, and the plot is break-neck fast.

Tris, the main character, lives in a city that we come to believe is Chicago, but with only enough population to fill a portion of the city, so it's probably the future. That population is divided into five factions who each venerate one character trait. On Choosing Day, 16 year olds can choose the faction they were raised in or a different one. Tris does just that, moving from Abegnation, a humble service-based faction, to Dauntless, a thrill-seeking faction that provides the city's security.  Tris goes through a great deal of self-discovery, finding out she is special even among the rare people who switch factions, at the same time that she is discovering some hidden truths about her city. 

That's the premise of the first book and the essential ingredients of the next one. With similarities to all the popular series I listed above (choosing day and factions are like Harry Potter, the romance a bit like Twilight, the female heroine in a dsytopian society like Hunger Games), it's engrossing. It also has a fairly strong female protagonist, a teenage romantic relationship in which they decide not to have sex before they're ready, and a realistic treatment of values and ethics in characters who are neither all good or all bad. I would and did recommend it for teenagers I know.

And then the third book hits. First, the setting changes. I can't say how or where without ruining a huge plot twist, but I think that change alone takes away a lot of the intrigue. Second, Roth adds another voice to the narration. Since I read the end first, I knew that was important to the outcome of the story, but it's still disconcerting after being accustomed to only one voice. Also, the writing gets even sloppier, like Roth was in a big old hurry for her publishers. Even the plot, which could continue to be intriguing, goes so far down a new tunnel of morals and science at war with each other that I was often confused. No wonder most of her teenage readers were disheartened. And finally, from the teacher/mom/Young Life leader standpoint, I was incredibly frustrated that the main characters ended up having sex. It's more implied than described, but still. I don't think it's necessary to the story and now I can't recommend that my students read this.

If, like me, the laundry list of faults doesn't discourage you from reading the third book, I'd love to hear your thoughts. One question I'm struggling with after reading it is how much a writer should aim to please her readers. Maybe this ending is where Roth was going all along, and she stuck to her guns and made it end the way she wanted. If so, I applaud her. But it feels to me more like she didn't know where to go and took the less obvious but more shock-inducing road. If so, she sold out anyway, so she should better have stuck to an end that would give everyone what they wanted. 

Four in One

I'm feeling more than a little divided these days. A week and a half ago, I went back to work after taking maternity leave with my third child. Of course, being a teacher, I really went back to work long before that, envisioning how my classes would go, meeting with colleagues, and finally, the long last weekend before, doing all my copying and laminating and organizing. And did you hear that this was maternity leave with my THIRD child? So now I'm responsible for the hearts and reading levels of ninety kiddos over the course of a school day and the ENTIRE well being of three others 24 hours a day. I feel like I embody the phrase "walking around with your heart outside your body." More than the sheer amount of work and never-ending potential for all hell to break lose, it's the emotional friction between my career and my kids, my life's calling to teach and my (willing) surrender of my soul to my family. So yeah, I'm a little divided.

And distracted.

Is it any wonder that I have read three and one-twentieth books of a vastly different nature over the last few weeks? I mean, I know you forgive me for not writing until now. I know you kind of like the four-in-one posts, right? It's just that this list of books is pretty diverse. Here goes.

Flight Behavior 

Novel by Barbara Kingsolver

This is the one-twentieth of a book I read. I did the math. I read to page 35 out of 671. It's not truly that long; I somehow ended up with a large print edition from the library. So actually, I probably read far less than 35 real pages, which isn't that much effort to give to a book before quitting. But I have fallen so much in love with a few of Barbara Kingsolver's other books (The Lacuna, The Poisonwood Bible, amazing!) that it felt wrong to not love this one. I can't even really tell you what it's about. Some red headed woman is about to have an affair and stops because she sees some weird thing in the hills, which I think turns out to be butterflies, but I don't know. Sorry. It didn't grab me, I'm tired, I quit. May you be a better reader than I and give it more than 35 large print pages to hold your attention. 

Divergent 

Young Adult Novel by Veronica Roth

The OPPOSITE of boring, this book may give you whiplash. It was just what I needed to take my mind off my...mind. The fact that it kept me up reading until 12:30 at night is my only complaint. (Yes, that's really late for me, I have a baby and a two year old and I'm a teacher. Stop calling me old.) Anyway, you may know this is coming out as a movie soon and is a trilogy that rivets some young readers almost as much as Hunger Games. It's similar in the futuristic dystopian setting and female lead but different in the writing (not quite as tightly constructed) and characters (the female lead takes a while to come into herself and even seems a bit damsel-ish like Bella from Twilight at first). The message is awesome for teenagers and I'm glad I listened to my many students and cousins and one nephew who literally pushed it into my hands to read. One warning--I've heard from EVERYONE that the third one disappoints. I'm still going to read it, though.

Carry on Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed

Memoir by Glennon Doyle Melton

A memoir is not that much of a departure from my norm. They're really the only non-fiction I like, probably because they are still narratives and often read like fiction. But this book veers more toward collected essays (blog posts, actually) and a bit of self-help, which I totally stay away from as it usually makes me feel worse about myself instead of better. Not true here. I knew I loved Glennon from her blog Momastery.com. She is truly humble and genuine in her pursuit of being the most...the least...just herself. Which is a recovering addict, mom, wife, Jesus follower. She calls us all be ourselves and let others be themselves, with grace and mercy and frozen pizzas. I love her piece called Carpe Don't, telling parents of young kids that it's okay to not savor every moment. You can't do it. Just look your kids in the eye when they talk to you and carry on with the rest of the crazy. Think I needed to hear that? Ayup. 

The Last Runaway

Novel by Tracy Chevalier

First of all, if you read this, get the one with the other cover. This is the one I read and it's weird. I don't think it looks like a facial expression the main character would make. Her name is Honor and she's Quaker, which just might be an element of the next book I'm working on writing, so I was very intrigued. My Quakers would be 1950's American, though, and she's 1850's British but moves to America. She follows her sister, who dies, leaving her in rural America without family or friends, just the uptight Quaker community her sister's fiancee lives in. Honor gets involved in the Underground Railroad and has to decide which path to follow in life, hers or that of the people around her. I was riveted by the story of slavery that is told and realized it's still very relevant today, with people in misery in so many parts of the world, even our towns, and the choices we have about how to get involved. Chevalier is an interesting writer, and she doesn't make the obvious choices or follow typical story lines, so expect to be surprised about which way the story goes. Honor truly makes her own choices, even when it seems like her choices are laid out first by community and then by literature. I wish I could meet her.

Thank you for letting me unload the little bit of my mind that was storing up thoughts on these books. I'm sure I could use the space for focusing on school or family, but instead I'm going to go ahead and read the second Divergent book and have a glass of wine. 

The All-Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion

Novel by Fannie Flagg

That's a mouthful, huh? Kind of like Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. That's Fannie Flagg's big hit turned movie and a good representative of her style. All her books are Southern charm, meets whimsical characters, seemingly silly plots with serious social issues and major twists at the end.

This one is no different.

And yet. I knew exactly what I was getting with a Fannie Flagg book, yet I went through a series of changing emotions while reading. At first, I felt like I was home. There was a sense of "aaahhhh" as I read the first few pages and remembered her way of creating characters who feel like neighbors (despite the fact that I'm about as far from a Southerner as you can get). The main character, Sookie Poole, is just looking forward to a quieter time in life after playing mother of the bride at four weddings in two years. She has a sweet husband, quirky friends and neighbors, and a hilariously overbearing mother, all of whom feel familiar, either as incarnations in Flagg's previous books or reminiscent of people I know and love. (Go ahead, guess which one you are.)

A few chapters in, though, the shift began. I became a little disillusioned and even frustrated with the writing. When Sookie finds out a secret about her family's past that changes how she views herself, she reflects on her life up to now and calls on several friends and family members to help her understand. Some of the internal and external conversations are just plain awkward. One section of dialogue has seven lines starting with "Oh" and another leans heavily on "Well." Those aren't characterization; it's multiple people repeating the same sentence starter. And it"s just one example of the ways the middle of the book feels clunky to me. I started to compare Flagg's writing to some of the more serious stuff I've read lately and it paled a little.

And yet. When I found myself staying up late to finish the book, I realized several things. For one, her secondary story line, the one that has to do with the title, is actually the main story line. Sookie finding out about her past is a way of humanizing the part of American history that Flagg wanted to write about, which includes World War II era sexual politics and what the cover blurb calls a little known spot in American history, the flying of planes by female pilots during the war. Also, I realized that the mystery of the book, which seems so simple I thought I had it solved early on, actually kept me guessing. Flagg drops clever little distracting details that made me think I had it but I was wrong all along. Finally, as I was crying at the end, I knew that Flagg's writing has its own kind of genius. It's not Jess Walters or Elizabeth Gilbert but it's a different kind of American classic. I fell asleep that night wanting to re-watch "A League of Their Own" and hearing patriotic music, yet praying fervently for my daughter to never know the sexual discrimination that has been part of our country's history since forever. All that from a simple Southern charm school kind of story. She's clever, that Fanny Flagg. Clever.

The Signature of All Things

Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert

I have to admit, I didn't want to like this book. You've heard of Elizabeth Gilbert, right? Of Eat, Pray, Love fame? I really enjoyed that memoir and thought that probably a fictional book by her wouldn't be as awesome. You can't do everything well, after all. And instead of being a good comrade in writing (as if I even compare to a best selling author), I kind of wished that she wouldn't do everything well. But apparently she does. This is a phenomenal book.

The plot and characters are refreshingly but deceptively simple: it follows the life of one woman from birth to death. Alma Whittaker is born in 1800 to an enormously successful and wealthy pharmaceuticals magnate. As a brilliant but physically unattractive child, she has a charmed early life with no friends but many interactions with adult geniuses and other interesting people. Her life is less enviable as she grows older and begins to lose the few people who are close to her. Never allowed or daring to leave her home in Philadelphia, the walls of her world begin to close in, so she turns to botanical research, which as always been at the heart of their home. Her research brings her joy and eventually more relationships and adventures in travel, some of them heartbreaking but all of them interesting.

Aside from publication jealousy, another reason I expected not to enjoy this book as much as I did is that it's so very much about science. Alma is a scientist above all else and there is a good bit of evolutionary theory that threatened to go over my head and interests. In writing about scientific research, Gilbert must have done a great deal of her own research, plus more about the customs, language and even philosophical and cultural leanings of the nearly 100 years and multiple settings in the book. Yet she manages to distill it down for the most part, writing at some times in generalities and when necessary in specifics that don't bore. Alma also dabbles in the gray area between the scientific and the spiritual, hence the title, which mixes things up enough to keep me interested.

Reading back on this post, it still sounds like a book I wouldn't enjoy. But truly, I did, and not just because I think I should. It has all my must-haves: likeable characters who snuck into myheart, a bit of suspense to keep me wondering and reading, the opportunity to live in another time and place for a short time. So congratulations, Elizabeth Gilbert. I guess I'll just have to like you and your sweet, wise face smiling from the book jacket. If only you could give me a hand in this publishing thing!