Critique

Being as this is such a great classic of literature, both for children and adults, I don’t add that much value by reviewing it and recommending it. However, I thought it would be fun to post something so much older in the midst of my reviews for books published recently. This is my attempt to say, “Don’t forget about me” for the old books that still have a lot of value.

In many ways, the reason that The Hobbit is such a popular book that has stood the test of time is Tolkein’s attention to detail and story. The world of Middle Earth feels tangible, and I would state outright that most of the fantasy books out nowadays are either rehashes of Tolkein’s world, or just action-driven stories that don’t take the time to delve into the setting, characters, or story with much depth. They’re fun reads, but nothing that will prompt any intellectual thought or multiple reads. Comparing books to food, The Hobbit is like a filet mignon while many of these recent books are more like a fast food cheeseburger. Both are meat, technically, but the filet is a much more satisfying meal even though it takes longer to make and eat.

Critique

To be honest, this book was so much better than I was initially expecting it to be. I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised considering that it won so many awards, including the esteemed Carnegie Medal. Not to be redundant, but I have to reiterate how amazing this book was. Unfortunately for readers everywhere Dowd has passed away and the book has been published posthumously.

As for the details, Dowd’s description of Northern Ireland during this tumultuous time is astounding. I truly felt the tension that Fergus felt and was able to get a clearer glimpse into the complicated world of Northern Ireland at the time. Fergus is an honest and compelling character who you can’t help but root for as he directs his life through the myriad of issues that arise with his family, his country, his blossoming love life, and the girl he’s found in the bog.

Having been to Ireland a few times myself, I believe that Dowd’s account of the area is accurate in its culture and people. Also, it’s refreshing to see a story told about this time period and area. I believe that readers need more historical fiction, especially regarding events throughout our history that have largely gone untold. The IRA and the fight for freedom from the British government, which is still an issue to this day, is something we rarely get a glimpse into.

I recommend this to all readers 15+.

Critique

This book definitely had me at “Hello.” Starting with such an in your face statement about a thirteen-year-old girl being caught in by her father in the back of a car having sex with a much older boy can’t help but catch your attention. However, I digress. It did actually take me three attempts to read it all the way through because that initial page is both engaging and off-putting. I thought, “Do I really want to read a book that starts out like this?” Eventually, I overcame my prudish tendencies and delved in. I mean, it did get a Newbery nod, after all, so there must be more to it.

In fact, there is much, much more to the text. It’s not about a promiscuous teenager at all, but rather a young girl searching for an identity that shatters at the beginning of her teenage years, and she spends the next several years overcoming the sense of poor self worth and insecurity that such an incident would cause. 

Her cold and insensitive father and overbearing and somewhat neurotic mother don’t really help, but in the end, Deanna is able to work up the courage to become the person she’s always wanted to be, and drastically effects the lives of the people around her in a positive way because of it. Ultimately, it’s laced with redemption in the midst of disparaging circumstances, and Zarr leaps into the fray of reality throughout the text. I recommend this book to readers 14 – 18, skewing more toward girls.

Critique

This was a fun book to read, not just because of the simple but educational poetry, but also because the artwork is engaging. It must have taken Cooper a long time to paint them because of their photo-realistic quality. It’s also a great book for young African American children to read in order to see the differences in their culture and why some of their own kin may look completely different than they do. I especially liked the line where a girl claims to be “cranberry red” from her father’s Irish heritage. I recommend it to learning readers from ages 3 – 8. 

Critique

It’s not surprising that the Surrender Tree won so many awards, including a Newbery Honor. The language is beautiful, and the story itself is one that is not often told. Especially for an American audience, this text reveals a new type of Cuba that predates the Communist revolution that sparked an arms race during the Kennedy presidency. This is a Cuba much like the early America or Jamaica—a country of people who want to have their own independence, who want to live freely as one people, no slavery, all equals.

It’s interesting to see the story from so many perspectives, and I think that Engle adroitly switches through the first person narratives with ease. Often writers will struggle to create variance in the voices and speech patterns of their characters, but each of the four sounds different from each other, not only in style and rhythm, but also in their character—hopes, dreams, loves, actions, driving forces. I read it twice, and I would recommend it to all readers.

Critique

This was a fun and endearing book. Mibs was such a fun character to follow during her journey into discovering herself, her abilities and some surprising friends along the way. Although the ‘people with special powers’ story has been told over and over now, Law’s take on it is refreshing. Rather than creating heroes who have to save the world against deadly foes, the Beaumonts are simple people who want nothing more than to keep to themselves and have as normal of a life as possible. The best part of the book is watching Mibs’s bravery and her indomitable spirit throughout some of the most difficult circumstances, simply because of the love she has for her own father.

Critique

Not only is this collection poignant and educational for younger readers, but I believe that it is an absolutely essential read for the youth of America. Too quickly people forget about the past, and these poems are necessary in order that history doesn’t continue to repeat itself. There are so many phenomenal gems by well-known authors and poets throughout the 20th century, and every single one of them is still relevant to our culture today. The list of poets in this anthology is amazing, and it’s an important read for anyone in order to show us a mirror, reflecting the current state of ourselves in hopes that we will grow and expand our understanding of life and humanity.

Critique

Collins has created a gripping epic of a story, which is an arguably darker combination of the already dark stories 1984, Lord of the Flies, and the short story The Lottery. I certainly couldn’t put the book down from beginning to end, however I found myself thinking the text was very dark and not suitable for younger readers. In fact, I was reminded of stories like The Bluest Eye, which is a text involving children as the main characters, but is often banned from various school reading lists and regarded as a book not suitable for kids.

That disclaimer aside, this is one of the better books that I’ve read in a while, and it certainly deserved all the press and awards that it’s received. I’m sure that several production studios will consider it for a film, which is bitter sweet in my opinion. This would make a great movie, but it would be incredibly dark.

On the literary front, this is a perfect example of a dystopian society, which is the best kind of science fiction. Also, what makes any good science fiction novel really good is the subtle or not so subtle hint that all of the terrible things going on in the story are palpable at some level. It seems a little farfetched that our society could turn into this, but it’s not far from where Rome was just before its fall and the degradation of art and culture had reached its limit with rampant incest and duels to the death in the Coliseum. Even now, reality TV is not a far cry from the gladiator games. How long will it be before we want to be entertained by watching people compete by killing each other?

However, what makes this book amazing, in my opinion is that Collins has taken a relatively original idea (possibly pulling from sources like the Japanese film Battle Royale) and really flushed it out in a phenomenal way. The great travesty with science fiction and fantasy books is that many of the authors have great concepts, but are terrible writers, leading them to flood the market with books that have great elevator pitches, but are, in reality, not that great. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think that Collins has given us a truly original story, but what made Chaucer and Shakespearre so great, among other things, is that they took well-known stories and rewrote them with their literary genius.

The way that Collins writes the story through the eyes of Katniss creates empathy for the reader, and makes the dark world tangible and the characters she’s interacting with three-dimensional. Katniss is always believable in every action and decision, making her a reliable narrator, and therefore, making the other characters reliable as well. In doing so, the story’s underlying messages are communicated clearly and effectively, showing our own society a mirror of itself and what it can become if we don’t start moving in a different direction. I recommend this book to all readers 14+.

The other books in this series so far are Catching Fire (book 2).

Critique

Alexie’s work is both surprisingly delightful with beautiful and hilarious moments and shockingly dark, giving poignant commentary on the current state of a once thriving cross-continental culture. To compare it to some current works, the tone of the narrative is a blend between Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Wednesday Wars, replete with drawings that aid the story and give comic relief and rife with intellectual wit that gives insight into White culture, Native American culture and the growing pains of youth. 

It’s not surprising that this novel won the National Book Award, and it’s rare to see Native American narratives that delve inward to delineate an entire group of people who have lost their dreams and the hope to accomplish them, who’s communal addiction to alcohol steers both their futures and their deaths, and who view themselves as a broken people who pine for the past. I recommend this book to all readers 12+, however, be warned that there are many elements throughout that will make it a good candidate to be banned from reading lists.

Critique

This was surprisingly well done. I’m not sure what I was initially expecting, but the story far exceeded my expectations. The characters are interesting, and the graphic-novel style way of presenting the story is perfect for how it unfolds and the subject matter being used to move along the plot. Typically, I steer clear of saying things like, “this is the first of its kind” because that gets thrown around a lot as a marketing term. However, this is something of a first, especially as an award winner, and Selznick does a wonderful job of interlacing the pictures with the words in order to tell a complete story. 

Even beyond that though, the story itself is wonderful, despite the method through which it’s told. The characters are all fascinating and mysterious in their own way, and everyone has secrets. Not to mention that each character’s personality and foibles adds to the depth of the narrative. I recommend this to all readers, but it will come alive especially well for readers 8-12.