Critique

A Nest for Celeste is really more a book geared toward kids at the elementary school level, but the reason I’m reviewing it here is because I’m always encouraged when I see stories that mix mediums or continue to push the boundaries of how we define a story. Such is the case here with the blend of the narration with the splendid charcoal images. The two elements mixed together brings it somewhere between graphic novel, illustrated children’s book, and standard novel. The illustrations and the placement of text augments the experience of the story, and thus the reader feels closer to the characters and the elements taking place throughout.

Secondarily, there is some social commentary interspersed about the treatment of animals and nature and our responsibility to see to the preservation of life and the beauty around us. Cole takes special care to make reference to birds throughout the book that are now extinct, and were once plentiful throughout that region of the US not more than 100 years ago. I recommend this to readers looking for a fun, quick story about a cute little mouse who has some pretty amazing adventures.

Critique

Very much in the tone of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird or John Grisham’s A Time To Kill, this exposé of the climate of the South in 1963 reveals the social and racial tension 100 years after slavery had been banned. The mentality of the African American community is still too often that of passive-aggressive servitude, and taking that final step to bridging the gap proves to be more of a mountain than it should be. The White community is often both cruel and two-faced when it comes to their African American townspeople, and it’s sad to see that people were treating each other this way even this long after slavery had been abolished.

Burg also relates the happenings of the townsfolk with that of the important historical moments during the summer of that year, which ushered in the Civil Rights movement in full force. This text is not for the faint of heart, but it’s a great tool in order to help us all remember how far things have come in America, and how far they still need to go for full racial equality and dissolving enmity between cultures. I recommend this to all readers 12+.

Critique

Kelly’s debut novel is a wonderful exposé on Southern society life at the turn of the 20th century, rife with subtexts and references to post-slavery issues and mindsets, the rise of modern machinery like the car and telephone, and the clear and unbalanced gender lines that existed and the struggle of one girl to overcome those.

In particular, this is an important novel for those looking into pursuing sciences, especially because of the constant references and education around naturalism, its rise into society, the opposition it received from schools and a predominantly Christian culture, and the important role it played in the emergence of a new humanity in over the 20th century.

Calpurnia is a delight to follow as she begins to notice the world around her. In her own evolution, she begins in the larval stage and moves through pupae, cocoon, and eventually becomes a bright and beautiful butterfly (or moth as is a symbolic reference in the book). Kelly is witty and clever in her treatment of Calpurnia’s growth as a person, a scientist, and a courageous and curious mind. She exhibits a vast range of human emotion, showing empathy, sadness, self-sacrifice and exuberant joy, clearly a believable and lovable character.

Kelly also has deftly woven passages from Darwin’s Origin of Species, cunningly breaking the 4th wall for the reader in an effort to compare the evolution of Calpurnia and her world to that of Darwin’s scientific expositions.

For those looking for an excellent read that contains layers of depth that can be turned to several times before fully comprehending everything, then this is the perfect novel. I recommend it to all readers 10+.

Critique

“This piney woods forest in far East Texas is wet and steamy. Take a step and your footprint will fill with water. Look up and you will barely see the sky, only small blue puzzle pieces, blocked by the ancient trees. It is hidden, this pace, and so are its denizens.”

Early on Appelt sets up the enrapturing and mysterious world of the bayou. It is here that she writes her beautiful book filled with juxtaposing stories of the past and present, mixed with fantasy and realism all coming together in the end to show that love triumphs over all and bitterness and vengeance only breed further sorrow. It’s reminiscent of Shiloh or Charlotte’s Web in its depiction of the complex lives of animals in reference to the humans they interact with as well as the setting and overall timbre of the writing. 

The text is both simplistic and complex in the tapestry that she creates throughout all of the short chapters that weave the tale of an odd family providing the love, protection, and devotion for that of the family despite the danger it poses to each individual. I recommend this book to any readers 9+.