Bookami

Jane In Bloom by Deborah Lytton

Jane Holden is the youngest in what appears to be the perfect family.  She has loving, hard-working parents and her beautiful and talented older sister, Lizzie.  Jane often feels as if she's the weak link in her family.  In comparison to Lizzie, she's rather plain and boring.  Not all is well with Lizzie, though.  She suffers from an eating disorder that ultimately leads to her death.  Jane soon discovers it was a lot easier to deal with an inferiority complex as a member of a complete family than it is to live every day in a broken one. 

Jane In Bloom certainly has some wonderful attributes. The strengthening of Jane's relationship with her father after Lizzie's death is heart-warming.  Jane learns that her parents always believed her to be the stronger of their two children.  She wasn't as far from their thoughts as she always suspected.  And indeed, Lytton hits upon some perfectly tuned phrases.  For instance this paragraph before Lizzie's funeral:

"My family is Presbyterian.  Not super religious Presbyterian.  Just your average go-to church-on-holidays and sometimes when Mom remembers that it's Sunday morning.  Not religious enough to give me answers to all this.  Just enough to confuse me.  Like what kind of God allows a beautiful teenager to die.  And why her?"

Out of the mouths of 12-year-old characters and every real person who has lost a loved one.  The honesty in that statement was just so potent.  I even like how Jane discovers somewhat of a kindred soul in Hunter. It's easy to forget that we are often very young when we lose our first loved one. The downside to this novel, though, is that the imagery is just a bit too heavy-handed.  Certainly it is understandable that Jane would search to find something, anything that would occupy this lonely time.  And given that she asked for a digital camera for her birthday, photography is a logical choice, but this is where it all becomes forced.  I mean her first real assignment is take pictures of roses at each stage of bloom.  Should Lytton really expect so little from her readers?  Of course, the death of a sibling is bound to change a person profoundly, but I don't think the readers really needed the constant reminder about Jane growing and blooming.  Even if I had read this novel at age  11, I think I would have felt as if the flower symbolism was a bit trite and fake.  It all felt a bit too soap-opera to me. 

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

The 59th National Book Award winners will be announced this evening.  The five nominations in the Young People's Literature category are:

• The Underneathby Kathi Appelt with illustrations by David Small
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
• The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

 

I have already favorably reviewed the first two novels on the above list (see April for Lockhart's novel and May for The Underneath).  As usual I'm impressed with the quality of writing in this year's finalists, but I'm also impressed by the cover art.  Kudos to all of the designers for these five novels, and particularly to the two designers of What I Saw and How I Lied and Chains. Often times, historical novels have wretched institutional covers, but both of these novels have fresh, stunning covers.  I just knew that Blundell's novel was going to be subtly steamy and that for all of Isabel's hardships, hope and light were just around the corner in Chains. 

Anderson's novel tells the tale of a young slave girl, Isabel, who is sold to a harsh New York Loyalist family at the beginning of the Revolutionary War even though her former owner had provided for her freedom in her will.  In New York she meets Curzon, who convinces her that her only hope for freedom is to help the rebels by spying on her new owners.  Isabel is blessed with an intelligence beyond her years, though, and soon realizes that the only path to being free is to help and fight for herself even if it means suffering unimaginable pain and anguish.

I love how Anderson's novel presents slavery in a different era.  I think a great number of young readers have the impression that the United States didn't really start debating the slavery issue until the mid-1800s.  I also think that many readers are stunned to learn that slavery was condoned in Rhode Island and New York, not just in the southern colonies.  Anderson also seems to understand that all novels must have a little grit.  Her pacing of this novel is just excellent.  There is not just one big heart-pounding scene, but rather several that move this novel along swiftly, keeping the reader turning the pages.  Add to this the rich detail in the vocabulary and cadence of speech used, and I can't speak more highly of this novel.  This is what all historical novels should be like.  History is fascinating and fast-paced, and Anderson makes sure her readers feel her passion for it.

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt with drawings by David Small

Synopsis: A calico cat, about to have kittens, is abandoned in the depths of the bayou.  Desperate to find a home for her wee ones, she befriends a chained-up old hound.  Ranger is happy for the company, but the hound warns her that she and her kittens must stay underneath the porch or his owner, Gar Face, will surely use them for alligator bait.  Of course, how can one expect eager, playful kittens to stay out of the sun?  One kitten's moment of curiosity leads to acts of extreme violence and hate, but also to ones of great, enduring love.

Review: When I was in the fourth grade, my teacher read aloud to the class Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.  Except for the small one on her desk, she turned out all of the lights and allowed us to put our heads on our desks as she read the tale of a boy and his daring, beloved pups.  The room was dark and peaceful and silent except for Rawls' words.  The Underneath requires that same sort of peace and quiet.  I could not read this book when my children were playing or when the T.V. was on.  I found that both my surroundings and mind had to be settled in order to appreciate this mellifluous novel.  This is a book that expects a lot of its readers.  It makes me realize why Watership Down is generally shelved in adult fiction.  Not all animal stories are children's stories, and I think The Underneath is not meant to be read by children so much as it is meant to be read to them.  Do I want a child to be alone when reading about how Gar Face is so filled with rage even as a boy that he would fill his mother's birdbath with rat poison?   Do I want a child to be alone when she reads how he shoots his own dog and can't be bothered to take the bullet out of the dog's leg?  No I don't think I do.  I want them to share the horror with another person so that it doesn't haunt them.  I want them to see the reaction of someone else and know that this sort of fierce hate is wrong.  I also don't want them to be alone when reading about a mother cat pushing her young son to swim to survive or when a hound saves his young feline friend by biting his vicious owner on the leg.  These acts of love have greater meaning when shared.  Children should see the happy, emotional reaction of an adult when something goes right for this unlikely family.  Children should know it's okay to be so involved in a novel that it brings one to tears.

For an animal love story truly for children, try The Wainscott Weasel by Tor Seidler with illustrations by Fred Marcellino.

The Seer of Shadows by Avi

Synopsis: It's 1872, and young Horace Carpetine finds himself apprenticed to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer.  Horace is excited by the science behind photography and can't wait to take his first pictures.   He is given his chance when society matron Mrs. Von Macht requests a photographic portrait, but when the film is developed, Horace actually sees the image of Mrs. Von Macht's deceased daughter Eleanora.

Review: I love when adult trends in fiction begin to appear in children's literature.  The Seer of Shadows is a kid's version of The Interpretation of Murder by Rubenfeld or Pearl's The Poe Shadow.  Newbery Medalist Avi has crafted a richly detailed period thriller that will have young, sophisticated readers obsessively turning the pages.

Fourteen-year-old Horace Carpetine is thrilled to be the apprentice to society photographer, Enoch Middleditch.  While photographs are appearing everywhere in 1872 New York, few people understand the science behind how they are developed, and Horace can't wait to take his own photographs.  Horace has just such the opportunity when Mr. Middleditch asks him to participate in a small deception of their wealthy customer, Mrs. Von Macht.  Spiritualism being all the rage, Mrs. Von Macht has commissioned a photographic portrait of herself to be placed on her deceased daughter's grave, hoping it will bring her dear Eleanora some peace in the afterlife.  Mr. Middleditch proposes to Horace that they could make a great fortune if they just impose an image of Eleanora on the portrait of Mrs. Von Macht.  All Horace need do is take some pictures of the paintings of Eleanora that the Von Machts have in their home.  While queasy about playing a role in Mr. Middleditch's ruse, Horace agrees to take the pictures.  When the film is processed, though, Horace doesn't see the images he took of Eleanora, but rather some frightful likenesses that appear to be her ghost.  Unsure of what to do, Horace queries Pegg, the Von Macht's black servant girl, about Eleanora's life and discovers that she was greatly abused by her adoptive parents and is determined to seek revenge from beyond the grave.

While I'm not sure this novel is appropriate for readers as young 8 as the jacket suggests, for advanced intermediate readers, it provides a quick, thrilling read.  Strangely enough, this was my first time reading an Avi novel, and I must say that I now know that I have been missing something great.  No wonder he has won the Newbery, as well as twice received a Newbery Honor.  I thankfully already have one of the Honor books, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, gracing my collection.  I can't wait to read it now.

If you enjoyed this novel, you might also enjoy A Northern Light (12+) by Jennifer Donnelly

Imaginary Enemy by Julie Gonzalez

Synopsis: Many kids have an imaginary friend, but Jane Venezuela White has an imaginary enemy named Bubba.  When life becomes unfair or Jane screws up, she writes nasty notes to Bubba, blaming him for everything.

Review: If you're looking for a fun, quirky book where not a whole heck of a lot happens, then Imaginary Enemy is the book for you.  Jane White is as average as her name.  She is the oldest product of her father's second marriage.  She has an older half-brother, Luke, that she idolizes.  She has two younger full siblings, Zander and Carmella, that drive her slightly batty.  She's not exactly one of the popular kids in school, but she's no dork either.  She's never the teacher's pet, but she doesn't require summer school.  In other words, Jane falls middle of the road in just about everything she does, but she does have one eccentricity.  Instead of an imaginary friend, Jane has an imaginary enemy named Bubba, short for Beezlebub.  Since the second grade, Jane has taken to writing to Bubba under the pen name Gabriel whenever her life feels unjust.  Jane doesn't want to take responsibility for much of anything.  She'd much rather have the carefree attitude of a total slacker.  Of course, that's what makes Jane's life difficult.  While she would like to have an I-don't-care attitude, she does care.  She worries about what her best-friend Emma thinks of her.  She worries about what the deMichael boys next door think about her, particularly what Sharp deMichael thinks about her.  She worries about having the right hair.  She even worries about what her parents think of her, not that she'd tell them that.  And she really starts to worry when her imaginary enemy writes back to her.  How can a figment of her imagination be responding to her letters, and how is it possible that Bubba wants to meet her face to face?  Can Jane handle the responsibility of dealing with her lifelong foe?  After all, it's not as if Jane's had much practice taking responsibility for anything in the past. 

So while Jane's story doesn't exactly whisk you away from the woes of teenage every day life, there is something charming about how Jane deals with the ups and downs of being a 16-year-old.  Jane is like a soda with a twist of lime.  Overall she's a pretty good daughter, friend, and girlfriend, but occasionally she's a bit wicked too, and on those days I wouldn't want to cross her or her imaginary enemy.

If you like this novel, you might also like This Lullaby (12+) by Sarah Dessen.