Dogeaters-- Jessica Hagedorn

OK, I made a mistake here. Dogeaters is probably not a young adult book, despite the fact that one of the protagonists is a 10 year-old girl. I have been reading off the beaten path here, and I knew this was bound to happen at some point—I just didn’t imagine it happening quite in this way.

Dogeaters takes place in the Philippines in the 1950s. Said 10 year-old protagonist, Rio, is a great character. Her relationship with her grandmother (“Lola Narcissa”) is particularly touching. Lola would rather spend her time with the servants, eating peasant food, than attending the family’s lavish dinner parties with powerful businessmen and generals as the guests of honor. Rio’s family enjoys a life of privilege, while other characters do what they need to in order to survive. Their lives intersect in a series of events that explore dynamics of power—political, sexual, and cultural.

There is some content here that I think a mature highschooler could handle: one of the chief protagonists earns his living as a prostitute, and there is a particularly disturbing scene involving abuse of a female political prisoner. Also, the writing style is such that I would probably need to re-read the book to fully appreciate it, preferably after doing some independent historical research.

Despite these reservations, Dogeaters is a concentrated wonder of a book. Hagedorn’s writing is rich and evocative, narrated from multiple perspectives and full of vignettes. Her style brings to mind those of authors Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salman Rushdie—authors who are frequently read in advanced high school and pre-college curricula. I think Dogeaters might be an interesting addition to the reading diet of such readers, who (like me) will find it challenging but also rewarding.

The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be hanging around a picnic, trying to steal some liverwurst, when all of a sudden you find yourself in the bottom of the picnic basket being squished by the roast beef? And then you realize that you're on a train, and heading very far away from where you were?

Chester the cricket can tell you. You end up in the subway station under Times Square. Fortunately, the Bellini's have a newsstand, and they take you in.

This book is a classic, and I don't know why I've never read it before. It's not very deep, but it was really cute. Definitely a good transition book, most appropriate for 1st through 5th graders. I really enjoyed it though.

Diary of a Whimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley is kind of a jerk. He takes advantage of his best friend, who is slightly more of a geek than Greg. He picks on his little brother. He's a little bit whiny. But Greg is in middle school, so I guess that explains everything.

Diary is a quick read, but is probably way more entertainin for 7 to 12 year olds than it was for me. I don't really have anything else to say about it. I read it, but I didn't really like it. However, I know lots of kids who really like these books, so I'm guessing it's just me.

A Taste of Salt-- Frances Temple

Haiti has been in the news, and in the minds and hearts of many, since the earthquake earlier this month. My wonderful friend E— a middle school teacher and social activist— loaned this book to me, and we had a discussion about how she plans to use the book to give her students some context.

Quite honestly, I struggled with A Taste of Salt, and I wondered if younger readers would also. It certainly gives a vivid sense of place, but its historical perspective has not aged well. (I suppose this is the price someone pays for trying to write about emerging democracy—so much for “new chapters.”)

A Taste of Salt takes place amidst the events leading up to Haiti's first free election in decades. Soon-to-be President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s inspiring words are the so-called “taste of salt”— the legendary cure wakes zombies from their trance and restores them to life. Aristide first appears in the story as the founder of the home for street children where Djo lives. Later, he is the pastor who delivers the sermons that give Jeremie her political awakening.

Djo and Jeremie’s stories make for interesting reading. We see childhoods in a street boys’ home and a neighborhood built on a garbage dump, the religious education system and bonded labor in the Dominican Republic, a firebombing and riots. Destiny, wrought here rather heavy-handedly, designs that Djo and Jeremie will become part of this new era in Haiti together.

That last bit was the rub for me, considering the turn that history took after A Taste of Salt was published in 1992. Basically, if hope is this story’s lifeblood, the whole thing is eviscerated by the corruption, the human rights violations, the coup, and Aristide’s exile to South Africa. The narrative is possessed a sense of history we know to be dead. It is (yes!) a zombie, but there's no waking it-- Jeremie, you should have thought twice before turning down that scholarship to the Sorbonne.

On a much more compassionate note, you can still support the ongoing relief effort-- you can find a great roundup of links here.

Peak - Roland Smith

Oh. My. God. This story is...fascinating, terrifying, frustrating, awe-inpiring and brilliant. Peak Marcello is a climber, and at the beginning of the story is caught climbing a skyscraper in Manhattan. Instead of being sent to jail, he is "rescued" by Joshua Wood, his famous mountain climbing father.

It comes to pass that Wood has brought his son to Everest, hoping that Peak, at age 14, will be the youngest person to ever reach the summit, thereby saving Wood's ailing mountain climbing business and netting him millions of dollars.

This book blew my mind. I read for sport, you know; it's a hobby, something to pass the time, and while I will get sucked into whatever story I'm reading at the moment, it's very rare that a book will truly impress me. I finished this late last night, wrote down my thoughts so I could post today, and went to bed. Where I could. not. sleep. I kept turning the book over and over in my mind.

Peak was definitely written for the young adult set; the story and language are fairly simple, and the story is narrated by the 14-year-old Peak. However, the subject matter and setting will make this a fantastic adventure for anyone who cares to read it.

This book is definitely going on my "to recommend" list. Ages 10 and up.

PS: Roland Smith lives in Oregon. Go buy more of his books, and support this wonderful Northwest author.

Ramona Forever - Beverly Cleary

I have fond memories of reading the Ramona books as a kid. Beverly Cleary really gets kids; the way they think, why they do what they do.

Ramona is spunky and spirited and a great role model for little girls everywhere. She doesn't always behave, but she's never really bad, and she almost always has good intentions.

Reading this book brought back many happy memories for me. It was like going back in time to when I was first reading "big girl" books, and discovering a little girl who was a lot like me.

I would recommend these books to anyone. Especially appropriate for grades 1 through 5.

Flight of the Dragon Kyn - Susan Fletcher

When Kara was very young, she had an illness that no one thought she would recover from. Her family left her near a cave inhabited by dragons, and she was taken in and nursed back to health with the milk from a mother dragon. Kara has no memory of this, but when she recovers she can call birds from the sky. She is an outcast among the people of her father's steading.

King Orrik wants to use Kara to call the dragons that have been plaguing the land, so he can kill them and win the hand of his beloved.

I really liked the second half of this book. Kara meets the dragons, and helps them escape annihilation. She stands up to the king, and is able to get everything she wants.

There is a happy ending, and I understand this is the first of a series. I'll read and review the next in the series sometime this year.

This is a good book for 11-18 year olds.