Slightly Late Father’s Day Picture Book

FArTHER                      By: Grahame Baker-Smith                  5 Stars             Favorites!

I have cut down on my book purchases for various reasons (money, space, time to re-read books when there are so many other books to read, etc.). Now the only books I purchase are ones I have read and loved in the past, thus I will eventually re-read them. FArTHER is a book I will consider purchasing in the future. It is an incredible picture book based on the relationships of father and son as well as following dreams. (I did want to post this book for Father’s Day, but life got in the way. Oh well.)

FArTHER is a story of a father who dreams of flying. His life is taken over in the effort to make wings to fulfill this dream. His obsession led him to many times forget his son, but the times he came out of his trance, father and son spent long hours playing and having fun.

One day the father is called off to war, never to return. The boy grew and eventually his father’s dream of flying was manifest within his own life. The son started by reworking his father’s wings. By reaching farther he is ultimately able to fly.

The story ends with the son’s son and the possibility that the same dream will come to him. It leaves you wondering how the grandson will take the dream of flying even farther (hot balloon, airplane…).

While the story is told well enough by itself, it is further enhanced by the flawless artwork. The cover of the book was enough to grab my attention and stand out among the hundreds of books I see every day. With all the books I want to read, I tried to push this one aside, but I was drawn to its irresistible force of attraction.  It is a book I could stare at forever.

Baker-Smith uses tones of steampunk (even if you don’t like or understand that genre, you should still check it out). The father’s house is high on a rocky cliff overlooking a sea and a distant city. Keeping true to the setting the colors are in cool hues of blue, green, and purple, neutral colors consisting of white, gray, black and brown with a warm tone of gold mimicking the sun.

The only color that deviates from the theme is red. Upon the first few times of reading the book I understood the red to represent a trail, leading to something important, or even portraying a great accomplishment. Upon digging a little deeper, I came to understand that when the red was used as a poppy it is a sign of remembrance to soldiers. After reading the story again I realized it is also used as foreshadowing for the father. Then again the red is used in other contexts, such as in a kite and when the son pursued his father’s dream and succeeded; leading me to believe that it does have additional meaning than just remembrance.

Baker-Smith was awarded the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for distinguished illustrations. This is a well-deserved award as the more I study FArTHER, the more I get. It is one that has layers of meaning and beauty.  

“Mom, I’m Bored”

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH              By: Norton Juster                    4.5 Stars

The Phantom Tollbooth is a book geared toward kids. I never read it as a child, but I would imagine you would learn different things from it at different times in your life, even as an adult. Some of you may grumble and write off the book, who wants to learn lessons? Don’t write off The Phantom Tollbooth yet, fun may still be found for all ages. It is written for kids who find very little enjoyment out of life, as portrayed by the main character, Milo.

Milo has no desire to find happiness in life and basically just lives his life by following the necessary motions. That is until a phantom tollbooth appears in his bedroom. Soon Milo finds himself transported into a world without rhyme or reason. Milo learns the importance of words, numbers, sound, and vision in an effort to restore the kingdom to its original glory.

This book is full of profound quotes and sound advice. It points out early the value of commodities such as time, and perception. In addition to the many lessons I learned, an important one happened when the miners in Digitopolis threw away diamonds, emeralds, rubies and a number of stones we consider to be precious. In the larger scheme of things there are items of even higher importance. Another lesson was that things are only impossible if you believe them to be so.

With all the knowledge contained within this short book, I would expect it to finish by saying something to the effect of “you have learned well tiny grasshopper”. Even without the phrase, Norton Juster’s work is done.

Summer of Dry Heat

MUSTANG MAN          By: Louis L’Amour         3 Stars

This is a classic western novel during the 1870s in what is now present day New Mexico. It is part of The Sacketts series with Noal Sackett as the leading man. Just as expected, the book is full of cowboys, Indians, legends of long buried gold  and various misfits banding together in order to claim that gold.

As someone who hasn’t been interested in western novels in the past, I was entertained throughout the book. Unfortunately, there were a few drawbacks. I grew up in a small town, which came in handy with some of the “hick slang”, but even I didn’t quite get all of the references used. The action starts on page one and continues throughout the entire book. However, while there was a lot of it, it never lasted long. It only took about one page for it to wind back down.

Nolan was the only character that had much character development. Most of the other characters only have small facts given like how they are willing to poison anyone to get what they want or another character is not someone you want to be involved in a shootout with. While the book had obvious flaws, it was still an entertaining read, especially if you need a book that can be finished in just a matter of hours.

The Darkest Places

INFERNO             By: Dan Brown                   5 Stars

As I was talking to a friend about this book it was brought up that the problem with Dan Brown is the fact that all of his books are similar. This is true. However, based on the content discussed in each book, I still feel like I am learning something (which for me is considered a perk that I look forward to while reading).

Dan Brown weaves his books with references to historical landmarks, art, literature, religion and science. It takes me quite a bit longer to finish his books as I am usually looking up images and researching topics as I go along.

Side Note: When I looked up the image of the Piazza del Duomo I was left breathless, when you add to that Giotto’s bell tower and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, which has Ghiberti’s bronze Gates of Paradise and black and white tiled floors, it sealed the deal of Florence being one of my Italian tour destinations.

In a previous entry I mentioned how I have “when the stars align” moments. This is where everything just seems to fit perfectly together without me planning the end result. This book was one of those moments. Inferno is based off the Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, which is composed of three canticas: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paridiso. Imagine my surprise when the book I read and reviewed just previous to this one (Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly) used the same Dante literature. Revolution also made references to The Divine Comedy and even broke the book into three sections: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.

The most profound quote in Interno is originally by Dante. It can be found referenced before the prologue as well as multiple times within the actual story. “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis”. This basically covers the entire book’s premise. How will you handle some of the greatest crises in your life? Pick up Inferno and discover how the characters handle theirs.

A Look at a Book from a New Favorite Author

REVOLUTION              By: Jennifer Donnelly              4.5 Stars

This book is about two girls: Andi, who lives in present day Brooklyn and Alex, who lives in 18^th century France. Donnelly does a fantastic job of weaving a story line that applies to each girl and century individually but with remarkable similarities that allow the novel to be seamless.

Andi’s 10 year old brother was killed two years previously and she has in a depressive state ever since. She uses music to cope with her Nobel Peace Prize winning father, who abandoned the family, and her mother who went crazy after Truman died. However, the music and her meds are failing to keep her away from a disastrous end.

Alex comes from a poor family trying to feed themselves at the beginning of the French Revolution. Alex’s farting puppet show is the only thing that can make the young prince, Louis-Charles, laugh after losing his older brother. For this reason, Queen Marie-Antoinette hires Alex to care for Louis-Charles, but soon the royal family and Alex are involved in the French Revolution in a way they never imagined possible.

Donnelly’s other young adult fiction, A Northern Light has similar historical novel excellence, but this book will take you to even greater depths. It is a book that might be hard for one to reconcile their feelings about. I both hated and loved it. Donnelly said it better than I could on page 200 with:

“I don’t like hope very much. In fact, I hate it. It’s like the crystal meth of emotions. It hooks you fast and kills you hard. It’s bad news. The worst. It’s sharp sticks and cherry bombs. When hope shows up, it’s only a matter of time until someone gets hurt.”

Revolution taught me things I wished I learned earlier, but at the same time wish I never knew. It will take you on an emotional rollercoaster as you learn more about significant historical events that make you wonder why we as a people still haven’t learned ways better ways. Yes, we don’t have the guillotine anymore, but the same problems that brought on the revolution still exist today.

Through the book I have come to understand that we can’t change others, but we can change how we handle our unique situations for the better. You might learn something different, but hopefully you will still enjoy Revolution as much as I did.

            Donnelly, J. (2010). Revolution. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Need a Beach Read?

AFTERWIFE                  By: Polly Williams                   4 Stars

If the only British literature you have ever read is Harry Potter then it is time you try another one. A chick-lit version is a good way to go. The humor is a dryer, yet it can still be a refreshing change.

Since it is based in England, if you have never been there you might learn a few new things. They speak English, but some things still need translating. For example, Wellingtons, or Wellies, are rubber boots. It must rain there a lot, because it seems like you can make a good fashion statement by having at least one pair. 

While I am partial to the Shopaholic series (Confessions of a Shopaholic is the first book by Sophie Kinsella), and maybe one or two other books by the same author, I found Afterwife by Polly Williams a nice change.

Sophie Brady is the main character and as the book opens she is already lying in the street dead after being hit by a bus. NOTE: Don’t get drunk and then run in front of a bus. Sophie’s views on being hit:

“I am wearing my worst knickers. Huge banana-yellow knickers…(my) skirt (is) hitched up around my waist like one of those binge drinkers you see on the news…you could have seen those knickers from space.”

Sophie is a devoted wife to Ollie and mother to young Freddie. She was a list maker in life as well as after death. Her main lists in the book include “a few random things I wish I’d realized before the bus hit”. Your husbands would all like to know that one of those items was to have more sex because you can’t have it when you’re dead. Another list is about HER, the future person who will marry Ollie and ultimately raise Freddie. “She can’t be skinnier than me. Or have better boobs. She can’t be the kind of woman who won’t eat cake.”

Then another list was one that Sophie made before she died, which Ollie ended up finding. This list is for things to be done including setting up dentist appointments, thanking a friend for a “playdate thingy” and most mysterious “speak to Jenny about it” with a frown face.

Jenny is Sophie’s motherless best friend, who has been engaged to a man named Sam for around a year, with no wedding date in sight. Jenny has carefully been kept separate from Sophie’s neighborhood mommy friends. This all changes when the neighborhood mommies decide to form a Save Ollie group to make sure that every need of his and Freddie’s is covered after Sophie dies. It doesn’t hurt that Ollie is completely gorgeous so even the married neighbors are all vying for his attention once he becomes the most eligible bachelor.

This was an entertaining book about relationships, actually mostly friendships. We eventually find out what it is and to be honest it was less dramatic then I originally thought (since the dust jacket description talks about secrets, love and loyalty), but I liked how things happened in the book better.

With some books there is a caution. This is one. While it is funny and entertaining, you need to watch out for a few words and sentences that you might not come across in more conservative conversations. I have learned since I read this book that the British are freer with intimate details and the F-bomb is common word with less meaning than Americans place on it. With that being said you are likely to run across these in your British literature pursuits. Other than that this was an entertaining vacation or beach read.

            Williams, P. (2013). Afterwife. New York, NY: Berkley Books.

All Things Willie

Imagine my surprise when I read one incredible book where one of the main characters is a lady named Willie, only to pick up my next great read and find out the main character is a man also by the name of Willie. I have a saying that I use when things just seem to fit together so perfectly, almost as if it was planned to fit so perfectly. That saying usually deals with the universe, most frequently: When the Stars Align. little bit of magic happened with these two books.

 

OUT OF THE EASY       By: Ruta Sepetys                     5 Stars

Josie’s mom is a prostitute in 1950s New Orleans. In fact, Josie is even named after a famous brothel madam who died on Valentine’s Day, the same day as Josie’s birthday. Fortunately, Josie has no desire to follow in her mom’s footsteps. She has excellent marks in school and it is her dream is to attend college anywhere by in New Orleans. To make this dream possible she works in a bookshop in addition to cleaning her mother’s brothel house, where Willie is the madam, in the French Quarter.

On New Year’s Eve a respectable man ends up dying in the French Quarter (shortly after having a drink with Josie’s mom), who has recently left town with Cincinnati, a John from the brothel house with mob ties. Even Willie doesn’t approve of Cincinnati and tries to convince Josie to cut ties with her mother. In a progression of events, Josie finds herself thrown into a situation where she must decide what family truly means and discover if family will trump her dreams of leaving the Big Easy forever.

Sepety’s first book was Between Shades of Gray (not to be confused with 50 Shades of Grey). That book put her on my top authors list. Maybe it has been long enough since I read it, but I think I liked this book even better as Out of the Easy was a world that made slightly more sense to me. Sepety’s writing is phenomenal, definitely securing her as one of my favorite authors.

 

SUTTON                       By: J. R. Moehringer               4 Stars

Ok, I have to be honest. I never did finish Sutton, but that is not because the book was not good. I was enjoying it, but I couldn’t get through it fast enough and then life happened and it was due back at the library before I could finish it. It wasn’t a book that I had to know about the ending, because I could do a little research and find out what Willie Sutton was all about. I even learned about the Sutton Law, which I am not totally sure the book was going to cover anyway. Since there are too many other books to move on to, I decided I had to let Sutton go and just live with the knowledge that, yes the book was informative and I was intrigued, but the time came to move on.