Critique

This novel was surprisingly good, not that I was expecting less, but more that I wasn’t sure what to expect at all. The overall premise of the book doesn’t really do the actual story justice. I love how Thompson has woven together Ireland’s past and present, the ancient, tribal, mythological version of the nation with the present, Christian-influenced nation we see today.

Although Thomson lifted the core of her fantasy from Irish mythology, I still feel this is an original fantasy because it’s rare that we get to see fantasies using Irish mythology. We see a lot of Norse and Austro-Hungarian myth, with elves, dragons, dwarves, as well as Greek and Roman, but it’s rare that we get a taste of Irish mythology, which is characteristically different, both in its creatures and the world in which they live.

What I found most interesting was the correlation that Thompson makes between the Irish mythology, which is treated as fact in the text, and the Irish culture. The music is thought to have come from the fairies, and when J.J. discovers the world of the fairies, who are actually much more like humans than our traditional view of fairies, he discovers that time never passes in their land, so they have no fear or worry about anything. Thompson’s theory spoken through the text creates a connection between the Irish people and their love for music, beer, dancing and general merriment with their mythology.

It’s a fun take on Ireland’s past and present, but, in a way, it may not be too far off. Even though they may not have actually gotten their music from fairies, there are theories about how cultures and languages emerge. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis works off of the belief that a culture’s language is formed out of its surroundings, thus why the Eskimos would have 30+ words for snow. There may be some credence to why Ireland and the Gaelic people have been historically very different from the rest of the people’s of Europe—why they’ve valued music and merriment, relationships and family over conquering other lands or industrial progress. Perhaps Thompson’s theory is correct, and the Irish music does come from the immortals who live in Tír na n’Óg, the land of eternal youth.

I highly recommend this book to all readers 11+.

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

The bar was already high for this book when I ordered it, and even then it far exceeded my expectations. Not only is it a collection of some of the most intricate and beautiful art in this style I’ve ever seen, but the story itself comes to life phenomenally through this medium. Initially I was surprised that there were no words and was slightly skeptical about how in depth the story could go, however, the project communicates an amazing story through each drawing that perhaps words would not have communicated as well.

To my knowledge, this book is one of the first of its kinds, and there’s a great chance it could have been done poorly. Often when a writer or artist experiments with pushing the boundaries of form, the first few iterations aren’t as good as the ones to follow once it’s been perfected. Tan, though, is nothing short of brilliant with this story, and even thought it’s just over 100 pages long, one could spend several hours searching through each intricate detail of every illustration. Plus, despite this taking place in a fantasy world, it’s almost 100% clear that this new city is supposed to represent New York/America and that these are the droves of immigrants who trekked to her teeming shores at the turn of the 20th century. I recommend this to everyone, even if you’re illiterate.

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.

Critique

It’s no surprise that this dark fantasy was a National Book Award nominee. There are so many elements throughout the text, both subtle and blatant, that make it a layered and robust story. First, the two stories running side-by-side is not only a brilliant idea, but it’s well executed. Only someone with true writing talent could write two stories, one from 3rd person and the other from 1st person and make them feel so genuinely unique from each other, yet intertwined so masterfully. At first, it’s difficult to see the correlation, but as soon as things start clicking, it’s hard to put the book down.

Of the major categories of conflict, three of them weave throughout the text, giving it depth on several levels. Hahp is a character who communicates his riddles psychology effectively, and his abusive experience in the school of wizardry is told poignantly as only someone with that kind of depth can. Sadima’s love and personal conviction for an individual’s responsibility to enacting social change both on a macro and micro level is magnetic and contagious. You hate the things she hates, loves the things she loves, and find yourself rooting for her to succeed, only to be left hanging when the story takes such a dramatic turn. It was dark but enthralling, and as soon as I finished reading, I wanted to jump right into the next one. I recommend this book to readers 12+, but be warned that it contains many elements that could get it banned from reading lists.

The other book in this trilogy so far is Sacred Scars (book 2).

Critique

This is a brave book that I imagine will be banned form many reading lists. It puts a magnifying glass onto domestic violence with a brutal portrayal. Not only are the descriptions of the beatings themselves graphic, but the psychological implementations are unearthed as well, with Karina’s fainting spells and Delta’s bedwetting problems. If that weren’t enough to raise the conservative parent’s eyebrow, the text also deals with a developing lesbian relationship, which has been generally taboo in the realm of kid’s books.

However, the text clearly deserves its nomination for the National Book Award, and as grim as the story becomes, the text is powerful. It’s important for children to know that even other children have to endure terrible situations and make difficult choices in over to protect themselves and overcome. Felin walks a very fine line between the content and the take-away messages, and had she not done such a masterful job of creating the story, there would be a lot more red flags for this book. I recommend this text to readers 13+.

Critique

When J.K. Rowling’s agency claimed that they had found the next great book series that would take the world by storm, I was skeptical. However, there are some legitimate aspects of that claim. Tunnels is definitely fun and engaging. It creates a similar feeling of wonder and excitement, and the books are certainly similar in how long they are. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much, but Gordon and Williams pleasantly surprised me.

I would argue with Christopher Little Literary Agency and say that Tunnels does not incorporate what made Harry Potter such a huge success, which is the allure of the wizarding school, that at any moment, any normal eleven-year-old could suddenly get an invitation into a world they thought never existed. The world that is created in Tunnels is exclusive, and not necessarily inviting. Even as an adult, I pictured myself in the world of Harry Potter, but I have no intention of ever wanting to be part of The Colony.

On the other hand, Tunnels is an exclusively original fantasy, which makes it engaging and imaginative in other ways. The elements throughout and the back-story on how this underworld was created are unique to this tale. Certainly, this isn’t the first time that a story has been told about people going down into the earth’s crust, Journey to the Center of the Earth being the most popular. However, the world created in Tunnels is entirely unique to this subterranean fantasy. There are no elves or dragons, no vampires or werewolves and the only magic that shows up is through scientific discovery. I recommend this to any readers 11+.

The other book in this series so far is Deeper (book 2), Freefall (book 3), and Closer (book 4) which has not yet been released.

Critique

Given the style and time period in which the novel is set, the writing captures a similar tone and plot flow as a Willa Cather or Mark Twain, and Elijah is easily as entertaining a character as Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. Also, rather than relying on the classic plot styles of comedy or tragedy, with the typical beginning, middle, and end—the conflict heightening throughout the text and resolving near the conclusion—Curtis creates a series of loosely conjoined smaller stories with lesser, individual conflicts and resolutions. Similar to My Antonia, the plot seems more like a river than a mountain, winding slowly back and forth throughout the narrative. This is perfect for the style and subject matter given that it’s supposed to be a series of average stories in the life of a boy living in the historical township of Buxton during a time period rife with turmoil, especially for recently freed slaves.

Not only is this a great historical piece, with Curtis obviously doing his homework to represent the language, setting, characters and subplots accurately, but it’s a potent social commentary regarding racism in America. The stories are entertaining as well as well written and the language is beautiful. Curtis’s ability to pull the reader into the text, creating empathies for the characters, and through their eyes, all of the slaves throughout America is astounding. This piece has the capability to be life changing for kids and adults alike, and I recommend it to anyone 9+.

Critique

At first glance, I was surprised to see that a book like this had been awarded the prestigious Newbery, especially when its competitors were Feathers and Elijah of Buxton, but as I read through each of the monologues, it was clear why this book had been selected the winner.

Not only is it a unique addition to children’s literature, a collection of 22 monologues designed to be performed by children, but the content really brings to light the history of an English village in the 11th century. Schlitz has found the balance between fun and educational, and her historical interjections interspersed throughout the monologues bring context to the complicated history and social structures she brings into the story. At some level, it could be perceived as a terse Canterbury Tales for children. I recommend this to any readers 9+.