Fenway: A Fascinating First Century

Bibliography
Bauer, David, ed. Fenway: A Fascinating First Century. New York: Sports Illustrated Books, 2012. Print.
image from: http://s1.dmcdn.net/Zpbf/x240-1hg.jpg

My Thoughts
As one of my life-long goals is to see Fenway, this book was very exciting to read. Well, there actually isn't too much text---a few essays from Sports Illustrated writers and many photo captions.

The opening pages explain the history of the ballpark (It opened April 20,1912.) and how through the years it has survived demolition, renovation and the curse of not winning pennants. Then the book is broken into a timeline that includes historical events along with the happenings of the park and players that took the field.

The pictures are amazing! It was fun to read about players who once donned the Red Sox jersey and to see the park evolve with the changing times. As many of the essays were written before this book was compiled, the predictions and exclamations made by the writers and players are an interesting piece of history (and fun to see if they came true).

The cutest thing was at the end of the book in the chapter entitled "Little Fenways." Here, the editor compiled various examples of Fenway replications, including a Lego ballpark. Cute, cute, cute!

The last pages of the book are 100 factoids and tidbits related to Fenway Park. Super interesting, especially for the stat loving fan.

I'm leaving tomorrow to see this majestic field. This book absolutely put a spark in my heart, and I can't wait to compare the images from the book to the live stadium!

The Book Thief

Bibliography
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Kindle file.
image from:  http://blog.swagbucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Book-Thief-194x300.jpg

My Thoughts

The narrative voice that starts this story is first person death. This is an interesting choice, as death travels to all places at all times, especially during a war.

The narrative voice introduces the reader to Liesel Meminger, the book thief. Death sees the colors of red, white and black when he thinks of her. He tells us her story. Most of the story takes place between 1939-1943. Hitler is rising in power and Germany is changing. Jews are being rounded up and sent away.

The narrative voice interjects observations, notes, and information to help the reader understand more of the story and also drops clues of what is to come. The narrative voice has a wry sense of humor.
It made me laugh on more than one occasion. I enjoyed the side notes he provided. For example, "I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold. And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance" (Zusak). 

Liesel is taken to the Hubermanns for foster care. Her mother can no longer care for her, her father (a Communist) is gone and her brother is dead. Rosa Hubermann is strict,  has "a distinct waddle to her walk" and cusses quite a lot (Zusak). She does washing for other families. Hans is quiet, paints, plays the accordion and rolls his own cigarettes. They ask Liesel to call them Mama and Papa.

The irony of Liesel being the book thief is that she cannot read. Hans tries to help her and is a comfort to her young soul. He is gentle and caring--quite the opposite of his wife Rosa. "If I ever ask you to keep a secret for me, you will do it" Hans says. Liesel promises she will. The secret is learned and kept.

"She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words" (Zusak).
The events and characters in the story are intertwined. Often things are seen, but not seen. This is how we live. We don't always see the connections. Enemies are actually friends. Lessons are repeated.

This book has many characters, many poignant moments, many historical elements, many surprises and many lessons about humanity that makes it a good read. It's hard to talk about the book with any satisfaction. It must be read and experienced.

 

The following are notes I took while reading. As I think the book must be experienced, I also didn't want to forget these things, so I'm leaving them on the blog. Don't read these until you read the book. You will be disappointed to learn what happens from my notes.


***************characters
Rudy Steiner becomes Liesel's best friend and ally. "In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer--proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water" (Zusak).

Hans Junior--son, Nazi. He calls his father a coward. His story will tragically end in Stalingrad, Russia.
Trudy/Trudel-daughter. housemaid

Ilsa Hermann, mayor's wife, allows her in to library
books belong to Johann Hermann--her son, died 1918

Arthur Berg-apple, food thief
Viktor Chemmel-leads thief gang

*************things happening
Max Vandenburg is hiding---goes to Hubermann's--Max's dad (Erik Vandenburg--taught him to play the accordion) actually saved Hans in Great War--volunteers for handwriting. "That was the first time Hans Hubermann escaped me. ...Not many men are lucky enough to cheat me twice" (Zusak).

Walter Kugler helps Max (they use to fight each other--in that became friends)

"Do you still play the accordion?" = "Will you still help me?"

Viktor throws The Whisperer in the river--Rudy retrieves it

Max is sick--brought up to Liesel's bed--after snowman in basement--Liesel starts bringing him gifts (flattened ball, ribbon, pinecone, button, stone, feather, two newspapers, candy wrapper, cloud "Memorize it. Then write it down for him" (Zusak). toy soldier, miraculous leaf, finished whistler, slab of grief)

Liesel steals 2nd book from mayor's library The Dream Carrier
Max wakes up!

Bombing takes Himmel Street--except Liesel who is reading in the "too shallow" basement

Liesel finds Max in "parade" through town--she is whipped by soldier, too
Liesel tells Rudy story of Max

Ilsa Hermann tells Liesel to write if she can't read any more words (Liesel destroyed book)

back to bombing--kissed Rudy (he's already dead)
holds Mama's hand and talks to her; can't look at Papa. gets his accordion for him

death picks up Liesel's book

"Liesel Meminger lived to a very old age"--Ilsa and husband pick her up at police station

Alex Steiner comes back--Liesel spends time with him in the shop; Max returns!

Death says "I am haunted by humans"

47

Bibliography

Mosley, Walter. 47. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 2005. Print.
image from: http://www.scholastic.com/content5/media/products/53/9780316016353_xlg.jpg

 

My Thoughts
This is another book that has been on my shelf for a few years. I received this as an ARC (advanced reading copy). The book is classified for ages 12+ and Mosley's "first book for young adults" (back cover).

 

As I started reading, I thought, "what in the world is this?" so I looked at the back cover. The publisher states that this book "weaves historical and speculative fiction into a powerful narrative about the nature of freedom" (back cover). Ok. Historical fiction I like. Speculative fiction? I'm not too sure. So I decided that I would have to read with an open mind.

This is the story of a slave named 47. (It is explained why he is named for a number.) He meets Tall John who has traveled thousands of years to find him. Tall John is mysterious and feeds 47's mind with possibilities. "It is only the mind that you truly own" Tall John says (Mosley 69). Tall John has many mantras that he shares with 47, the most often repeated is "neither master nor nigger be" and he explains that "when you say master and when you say nigger you are making yourself his dog and his slave" (Mosley 56). Once 47 realizes what this mantra fully means, he feels the "thrill of freedom" in his heart (Mosley 146).

At Chapter 13, I realized the drawing at the beginning of each chapter changed. The drawings depict the connections between the characters in the book with Elle, Tall John's home planet.

There are aspects of slavery discussed in this book as well as timeless adages like "sometimes we have to make hard choices" (Mosley 177). Some of the slavery scenes are quite graphic and uncomfortable to read.  There is a zombie scene that actually fit in a weird way. The idea of freedom and what that means is explored. I caught myself marking the timeless advice that Tall John gives and those revelations 47 has. "All John had to do was give her [Tweenie] a few nice words and she changed from a sullen bully into a woman filled with hope" (Mosley 164).

Overall, the story was ok. I just had a hard time with the unrealistic nature of it. I think I'll have to read more speculative fiction to make a determination if this story was good or not. I did try to read with an open mind, but I kept finding myself doubting the narrative.

The Language of Flowers

Bibliography
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa. The Language of Flowers: A Novel. New York: Ballantine Books, 2011. Print.
image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuUNLokaWXp9mM-mvdJV7AgmeiUINuoK13kvXaByyHncFogi-bjI07JrvH2YcDxns-BIFjac-XuCslgROmckshPDTK9dKPfFyShldnHo3HPZqUU3ZpMEGRPiYYmSHMOPWAxGFqxagosrQ/s200/language-of-flowers.jpg

My Thoughts

The book is divided into four parts (1-Common Thistle, 2- A Heart Unacquainted, 3-Moss & 4-New Beginnings).

The story alternates between the now and the past. We meet Victoria Jones, an 18 year old who is exited out of her foster home to a guidance home. After 3 months there, she's evicted because instead of finding a job, she spends her time finding flowers. She is infatuated with flowers. We learn that at one (pivotal) foster home, Elizabeth taught her "the language of flowers is non-negotiable, Victoria" (Diffenbaugh 63).  Once evicted from the guidance home, she lives in a park in a secluded spot. She begins working with Renata at Bloom, a flower shop in San Francisco and evens finds a "closet" to rent out so she doesn't have to sleep in the park.

Victoria has a love and understands the "language of flowers" (First title reference on page 29. Also appears other times in the book.)  and has a gift that helps Renata's business. Victoria later learns that Elizabeth "had been as wrong the language of flowers as she had been about me" (Diffenbaugh 74). Victoria begins a quest to photograph and collect the real meaning of the flowers. She's learned that sometimes there are more than one meaning.

Victoria feels unworthy and doesn't trust and has a hard time loving because she seems to ruin the good things in her life. However, she makes some good choices, based on her love of flowers, that actually pull her out of a life she could have lived. In many ways, the flowers both destroyed and saved her life.

There is so much in the story that I reacted to while reading. The story was enjoyable and I learned about what meaning certain flowers hold. As I read, I started a list of the flowers mentioned and their meanings. This was unnecessary, as in the back of the book, there is a flower dictionary. At times, I wanted to scream at Victoria for the way she treated Grant and Hazel. However, I did understand her need for survival. She'd been kicked (sometimes literally) too many times.

I enjoyed how Diffenbaugh wove the stories together of the past and present, as we are always connected to decisions we've made. "Every decision I'd ever made had led me here" (Diffenbaugh 249).  Some parts of the book were predictable or unbelievable, but the story also holds a few surprises.

Tofu and T. rex

Bibliography
Leitich Smith, Greg. Tofu and T. rex. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2005. Print
image from : http://vegbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Tofu.jpg

My Thoughts
Here is another book that's been on my shelf too many years. I received this as an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) (at the Texas Book Festival?). Again, I thought THIS is the summer I will read this book!

When I started to read it, I noticed the author's name. I recognized this name. So I "Googled" it and sure enough, this author is married to Cynthia Leitich Smith, an author I sought out to hear this year at TLA. This became another confirmation that this is the summer to read it. Now, on to the story.

The book is written for "middle grades, ages 8-12" (back cover). It was a funny read that I'm happy to share with my daughter. The story is told from two points of view: cousins Frederika (Freddie) Murchison-Kowalski and Hans-Peter Yamaha. The setting is Chicago. Freddie is a vegan. The kids' grandfather owns a butcher shop where both cousins work. There is conflict.

Freddie attends the Peshtigo School where Hans-Peter is trying to enroll. The application process is quirky, much like the school. Hans-Peter is dinosaur obsessed and the Peshtigo School offers a wonderful program that he wants to study. Will his admittance essays on sausage making be enough to convince the board he is Peshtigo worthy?

Through the story, the cousins come to understand that being different doesn't mean they can't be good cousins. They each end up helping the other in surprising ways.

Ashes of Roses

Bibliography
Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf, 2002. Print.
image from: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SCT2WMJXL.jpg

My Thoughts
This book is historical fiction. It's another book I've had on my shelf for a few years and decided THIS is the summer to read it. It is about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that happened March 25, 1911, but it really isn't just about that because the fire doesn't happen in the story until page 204.

This is really a story about the resilience of humans. Margaret Rose Nolan and her family immigrate from Ireland to the United States. Upon arriving, the youngest Nolan child is denied admittance because he has trachoma (a descriptive passage explains this very painful process of how this is found). Da decides to return with the boy and leaves Ma and the three girls in New York to meet up with his brother Patrick.

Uncle Patrick's family is none too happy to receive these "dirty" relatives (Auch 47). The women stay there for a brief time until it is decided they must return to Ireland. Living in the United States just isn't working. At the dock, Margaret (now just Rose) and Maureen talk their mother into letting them stay. I can't imagine what a decision that was for the mother!

Rose is smart, but she doesn't know the ways of this new country. She befriends Gussie (or perhaps Gussie befriends her) and Rose begins work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory where she earns $6 a week for long hours.

Auch does a wonderful job describing in the book:

• the process of entering the country (I was worried that the family would be separated as they herded from one hallway into the next.),
• the working conditions of the factory,
• the hopes and aspirations of immigrants wanting the streets in America to be paved with gold, only to find that they weren't,
• the "unsavory" characters that prey upon those that don't know or don't have a voice to protest

The title reference is on page 52, which is a fabric color, but I believe the title is a double entendre after I read about the fire.

I can tell that Auch did her research while creating this story. The descriptions are just too real to not be true. She also doesn't allow for a "happily ever after" ending because that would be disrespectful to those 146 people who died at the Asch Building.

An Abundance of Katherines

Bibliography
Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. New York: Dutton Books, 2006. Print.
image from: http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360206426l/49750.jpg
My Thoughts
Last summer I read two of John Green's books (Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska). John Green became my "go to" author recommendation for the school year (and gave me a little "street cred" with my teens!).

Green did not disappoint me with this novel. It is witty and full of memorable characters. Colin Singleton is a prodigy. He speaks eleven languages. He creates anagrams and memorizes things he reads. "It wasn't just that things interested him because he didn't know from boring--it was the connection his brain made, connections he couldn't help but seek out" (Green 92). Because of this, he only has one real friend, Hassan. After being dumped by Katherine XIX, Colin and Hassan take off on a road trip in hopes of Colin getting over being dumped. They end up in Gutshot, Tennessee where they meet Lindsey and Hollis Wells. The Wells own the local textile factory and hire the two boys to record the stories of the locals. As the stories unfold, Colin works on his Theorem. This will be a mathematical calculation of his relationships with all of the Katherines. However, there is a flaw. Once Colin figures out the missing piece, he creates a "perfect" Theorem of relationships. Will this be enough to make Colin matter to the world?

Some parts of the book were predictable (no spoilers here). I absolutely loved the footnotes of random facts that Green includes. These notes add to Colin's character. He is a little weird and including the weird footnotes works. Plus, I always enjoy knowing random things that seemingly have no connection, yet they really do. My brain sometimes works the same way.

I laughed out loud several times reading this story. When Colin and Hassan go on the hog hunt (which was a funny episode), Hassan explains why the "whole world is turned upside down" because "It's like we're in a snow globe and God decided he wanted to see a blizzard so he shook us" (Green 166). I've thought this, too.