Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

I read an interview with Daniel Nayeri before Everything Sad is Untrue was published and I had been eager to read it ever since.  For a whole host of reasons, it took me forever, but I'm glad that it did because it meant that I read it just shortly after it won the Printz Award.

Perhaps because it had been on my radar for so long and it had just won YA's most celebrated award, I assumed that I would drop into the pages and not look up until I was done. That was not at all what happened for me as a reader.  Nayeri's fictionalized memoir is based on his own story of being an eleven year old refugee from Iran who lands, unceremoniously, in Oklahoma.  

When Khosrou (or Daniel, as he is renamed when he lands in America) arrives in Mrs. Miller's classroom, he becomes a storyteller.  In an almost stream-of-consciousness way, he weaves stories from his past with Persian mythology and the reality of his present day circumstances. At first it was difficult for me to follow this meandering path - I'm not always a big fan of stories-within-stories - but Khosrou's winsome voice won me over. Although he, his mother and his sister had a harrowing journey out of Iran, through a refugee camp in Italy, finally to Oklahoma (and an abusive new stepfather), Khosrou somehow manages to find the levity in tragic situations without subsequently denying the tragedy.  It's a masterful line to walk, but there's a reason Nayeri won the Printz.

There are a few "tricky" things about Everything Sad is Untrue in terms of readership.  There are no chapters (although there are frequent breaks in the text), the plot never once goes in a straight line, and the protagonist is younger than typical YA narrators.  All of those things eventually became part of what I appreciate about Everything Sad is Untrue, but it was not love at first sight. For some readers, it might add up to three strikes, but for those who enjoy quirky, outsider voices, they will find a soulmate in Khosrou. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/25/16

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

I have been a fan of Rodman Philbrick's work since I read The Young Man and the Sea when it came out back in 2006.  That book remains a favorite in my library and resonates especially with my middle grade boy readers who, like the protagonist, live on the water here in mid-coast Maine.

Philbrick's new offering is an apocalyptic tale set in a world that is just like ours, except for the fact that a geomagnetic storm has destroyed all forms of electricity.  Cars won't drive, lights won't illuminate, batteries won't power; there's no TV, no radio, no running water, no heat, no phones, no computers.  Charlie, his younger sister, and his mom hunker down and make do with that they have.  As long time residents of Harmony, New Hampshire, they are industrious and creative, so they find ways to stay warm and fed, despite the fact that it is the dead of winter.  The community, however, starts to splinter, and there are those who use the chaos to their advantage, including one particularly scary right wing militant family.  When Charlie's diabetic mom slips into a coma because she doesn't have the medicine she needs, Charlie makes a bold decision to try to help her, even though it means risking his own life.  

This is a page turner, with pretty much non-stop action, but I also like that Philbrick addresses some bigger questions about how we take care of one another in our communities, how dependent we are on "the grid" and how doing the right thing can sometimes be incredibly scary.  

The Big Dark addresses deep philosophical questions within a remarkably short (under 200) page span, which makes this a great choice for both reluctant and avid middle grade readers.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/5/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

It was an exciting week for me because Brian Selznick's The Marvels arrived in the mail.  Wow, this book  is quite a presence even before you open it - it is massive (bigger than a brick), the cover is a lush, rich purple and the pages are gilded on the edges.  So, it is impressive before you even crack it open.  Once inside it feels quite similar to The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck; one notable difference is that the first half is almost exclusively illustrated, while the second half is almost exclusively text (whereas in the previous two books there was some text interspersed with the illustrations).  I love Brian Selznick's illustrations because they truly do set the scene in impeccable detail.  The Marvels spans decades and centuries and the drawings capture each era perfectly.  

For me, the switch from illustration to words was just a little bit jarring.  I wasn't quite ready to leave the world of pictures behind (or make the leap two hundred years forward to the 1990s), but once I adjusted, I was just as captivated by the words as I had been by the illustrations.  That said, I was so happy that Selznick chose to return to the art of visual storytelling at the very end of the book.

For those who love Brian Selznick's style, The Marvels will not disappoint.  For those who are unfamiliar with his work, this will be, well, a marvel.  As an elementary school librarian, I think this book is a little more complex than Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck; I found myself making quite a few mental connections and leaps as I was reading, wondering if my students would be able to keep up.  I know that they will be awed by the book and I'm looking forward to seeing what they think!

Other books I read and enjoyed this week:

This is SUCH a cool book!  Great for all ages.

              

It's Monday! What Are You Reading 9/7/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

One of the most moving books that I've read recently is Lisa Graff's Lost in the Sun.  It was not until after I'd read it that I realized that it is actually a companion book to Graff's Umbrella Summer (published in 2000) which I haven't yet read.  

In Lost in the Sun, Trent is entering middle school after a disastrous 5th grade.  In a complete freak accident, a hockey puck that Trent hit struck another boy and killed him.  Trent is pretty much wrecked by this experience, but doesn't really let on that it bothers him as much as it does.  Instead, he acts like a bit of a jerk, to both the adults and the kids around him.  His parents are divorced and his mom is reaching her wit's end with his behavior, while his dad is preoccupied with a new wife and the arrival of a new baby.   Trent is left more or less on his own to deal with his complicated feelings until he befriends Fallon.  Fallon is a WONDERFUL character: witty, charming, slightly mysterious, tough, and smart.  Trent initially starts hanging out with her to dodge his weekly get-together with his dad, but even he becomes charmed by Fallon and a special friendship develops.  As readers, we know that something intense has happened to Fallon - she has a huge scar on her face and deals with others' curiosity about it by making up fantastical stories about how she got it.  But, whenever anyone prods too deeply about it, she briskly makes it clear that the subject is off limits.  

The fragile  friendship between Fallon and Trent is just one of my favorite things about Lost in the Sun.  I actually also really love the way Trent is pretty much a pain in the neck to all his teachers at school; he refuses to participate in any class and his teachers have very realistic reactions - a combination of exasperation, compassion and patience. 

The ending of this book made me cry and although I've read some other reviews in which readers were disappointed by it, I thought it was perfect.  This book may not be for every reader - it includes some heavy issues (grief and guilt, primarily) and Trent is not a typically "likable" kid.  For me, though, it has just enough humor to temper the sorrow and the relationships are so realistically drawn that I now feel like I know everyone in Trent's orbit.  Clearly, it is past time for me to read Umbrella Summer!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/1/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

I have been a huge fan of Matt Tavares since he visited my library back in 2006.  I love baseball and many of Tavares' books, both fiction and nonfiction, highlight and reflect the beauty of the game.  I didn't think he could get any better, but his latest effort is my favorite.  

Growing Up Pedro tells the story of Pedro Martinez, one of the greatest pitchers ever (and my personal favorite).  This is a big, oversize book, as befitting the subject who often seems larger than life.  What I especially love about Growing Up Pedro, though, is the way that Tavares frames Pedro's life in relation to his brother, Ramon.  Pedro is clearly the star of the show, the masterful pitcher who can be both goofy and fearsome, but Ramon is the hero.  

The illustrations in this book are truly stunning.  From Pedro's childhood in the Dominican Republic to his game face on the mound, Tavares has perfectly captured the essence of "Ramon's little brother."

Growing Up Pedro is a wonderful book for baseball fans of all ages!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/25/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

Augusta Scattergood's The Way to Stay in Destiny takes place in Destiny, Florida in 1974.  Theo (short for Thelonious, as in Thelonious Monk) has been uprooted from his home with his grandparents and brought to this small town with his uncle Raymond.  Uncle Raymond is not a sympathetic character - he is verbally abusive to Theo and clearly still reeling from his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.  Theo is grieving the recent departure from his grandparents and the long ago deaths of his parents and the one thing that brings him comfort - music - has been prohibited by Raymond.  Fortunately, their rooming house has a piano and a landlady who sees Theo for who he is - a lost soul in need of kindness, music and friendship.  Slowly Theo makes another friend in Anabel, a girl who shares Theo's love (or obsession) for baseball.  Together, they try to prove that Hank Aaron once lived in their small town.  

This is kind of a quiet book, with Theo's melancholy slowly giving way to hope.  I love two of the same things that help Theo get through a very difficult time - music and baseball - so this book really resonated with me.  I will hand it to middle grade readers who crave character development more than action and who might appreciate the plight of a lonely boy.  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/18/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

Jennifer Nielsen's The False Prince was on the Maine Student Book Award 2013-'14 list and it was (and still is) one of the most popular books in my library.  Kids were drawn to the action and intrigue and the extremely sympathetic main characters.  I recently read a book that reminded me a bit of Nielsen's False Prince and I am hopeful that it, too, will be wildly popular for middle grade readers.

The Whisperer by Fiona McIntosh is a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper (although one doesn't need to know the original tale to enjoy McIntosh's version). In this telling, Lute is the crown prince who is in grave danger at the hands of his own uncle, who wants the throne. Griff can hear the thoughts of people around him, which feels more like a curse than a gift when his unscrupulous traveling show manager forces him to use this power for profit. The two boys are connected in a surprising way and with the help of Tess and her menagerie of mystical creatures (including a gryphon and a centaur) they must save their lives and the kingdom.  

Readers who enjoy fairy tales, action and adventure, and strong protagonists will love The Whisperer!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/11/15

Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting the #IMWAYR meme.

After a rather lengthy blogging vacation, I'm back!  My blogging hiatus helped me realize that I read too much to try to extensively review all the books I read.  So, in this new, improved version of my blog, I am only going to highlight one (or maybe two, if I can't help myself) book from the previous week.  I'll continue to review books on GoodReads, but here at Bibliothecary Prescriptions I'm going to really just focus on my favorite books, or maybe those that are the most thought-provoking or question-inducing.  So, without further ado...

Pam Munoz Ryan's latest book, Echo, is truly magnificent.  It is getting lots of Newbery buzz and was starred by School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.  Oddly, I was a little bit reluctant to read it.  It is HUGE, and I mean HUGE, coming in at almost 600 pages.  Generally I don't shy away from long books, but I know that many of my upper elementary student readers do.  So, I didn't want to waste my time reading a book that my students won't touch simply because it is so long.  Having read it, though, I now know that the trick will be convincing them that despite its heft, this is a surprisingly quick read.  Once I picked it up (sitting outside in the sun, which was an astonishing thing to be able to do here in mid-coast Maine after an epic winter), I truly couldn't put it down and finished it over the course of a weekend.

Echo is a beautiful blend of fairy tale, fantasy and historical fiction.  It opens and ends with a fairy tale and sandwiched in between are three different stories, all tied together by one unique harmonica.  The three middle stories take place just before through just after World War II.  Without giving too much away, I will only say that the voices of Friedrich, Mike and Ivy are all distinct and unique.  Ryan captures something beautiful and lonely in each of them.  One extraordinary, magical harmonica unites them and  readers can feel, almost viscerally, how music can bring comfort even in the most desperate of situations.  The end of this book - don't worry, no spoilers here - is truly brilliant, breathtaking, astonishing... all the superlatives that can be applied to a book.  

I love this book.  Now, my challenge as a children's librarian is to figure out how to convince my middle grade students that 600 pages is not too many when the story is this extraordinary!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 3/24/14

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

I've been taking a little blogging hiatus, but I've been busy reading and reviewing.  Last weekend the Maine Student Book Award committee met and finalized the MSBA list.  It is exceptionally difficult (way more so than I realized) to create a balanced list that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.  I love many of the titles on this year's list and I'm looking forward to sharing and discussing them with my students.

Now, it's on to books with a 2014 copyright!  I've been treating myself to a few adult books, but also trying to get a jump on next year's MSBA possibilities.   So, this is what I've been reading:

For grades 7+

Threatened, Elliot Schrefer’s follow up to Endangered, does not disappoint.  Set in Gabon, Luc is indentured to Prof.,  a mysterious man who says he wants to be Africa’s own “janegoodall.”  Together they venture deep into the jungle to observe and study chimps.  Luc’s painful loneliness after losing his family, his bravery and fear and his growing friendship with Prof. are all beautifully rendered.  The setting is extraordinary and feels like a character all of its own and the chimps are fascinating.  I loved this book.

For grades 3-6

Wanderville, by Wendy McClude tells the story of three kids who, through differing tragic circumstances, end up on the orphan train headed to Kansas. Terrified by the stories they hear about what will happen to them when they are “adopted” they jump off the train and find themselves adopted by Alexander, a boy who has created his own little utopia in the woods. This is an easy reading Boxcar-esque first in a series that I think middle grade readers will enjoy.

For grades 5-8

Piers Torday's The Last Wild is a dystopian fantasy about a boy named Kester who can’t speak to humans, but who can communicate silently with the few animals that are left in the world after “the red eye” killed off most of them.  He teams with a group of animals, including a beautiful and fierce stag, a mischievous wolf cub, a cockroach called “General” and a flock of pigeons to try to save the world from both disease and evil humans.   I loved the characters, both animal and human, in this imaginative tale.

My adult reading was pretty heavy hitting this past week - both Susan Minot's Thirty Girls and Alex Myers' Revolutionary are memorable for their contrasting darkness and light.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/24/14

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

I am knee deep in Maine Student Book Award short list titles these days, which I'm not reviewing here on my blog since the short list is top secret, but I did have the chance to read a couple of fantastic new (e.g copyright 2014) books this past week.


I am definitely biased on this one, but Saundra Mitchell's latest book, Mistwalker is a treat.  Eons ago Saundra tweeted that she was looking for a teen girl from a Maine lobstering family.  Well, I am lucky enough to work in a community where lobstering is alive and well, so I directed her to a former student… and then forgot about it.  I was astonished and thrilled, then, when Saundra recently sent me a copy of the book.  Creepy and atmospheric, Mistwalker is a ghost story meshed with a coming of age story.  Willa’s brother was shot and killed by a feuding lobsterman on the coast of Maine.  Devastated by guilt and sorrow, Willa is desperate for answers and relief; so much so that she is drawn to the Grey Man, a spirit/ghost that lives in a lighthouse on an island.   Told alternately in Willa and the Grey Man’s voices, Mistwalker is both haunting and oddly romantic.  



My latest favorite read is The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson.  You know the feeling that you get when you are confident that you are in good hands?  I had this feeling after reading just a paragraph of The Mark of the Dragonfly.  This is a totally spellbinding dystopia/mystery/steampunk adventure set in an alternative world (that initially feels a little bit like The Hunger Games).  Piper is a "scrapper" trying to survive on her own in Scrap Town Number Sixteen after her father dies working in a factory in the capital of the Territories.  During a horrific meteor storm, she discovers a mysterious girl named Anna who has the Dragonfly tattoo, a sign that she is protected by the king.  Anna, however, can't remember anything about her past, but she is terrified of the man who comes to Piper's house looking for her.  Together Piper and Anna set off on an old rickety train (the 401) to discover Anna's story.  Along the way they forge an extraordinary bond between themselves and several other special characters on the train.  This is a beautiful story, one that comes to a surprising and satisfying end.  As I got closer to the last page I was groaning a bit inside for fear that I was going to be left with a cliffhanger.  To my delight, though, this book does not appear to be the start of a series (although it certainly could be) and the conclusion provides an all together satisfying end to a special story.  This is one to most definitely add to your "to be read" pile!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/17/14

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

For months I've been so smug about blogging every week, rain or shine.  And then along came February and I fell silent.  The main reason is that I am reading primarily Maine Student Book Award short list titles and the short list is super-secret, so I feel like I need to zip it for the moment.  I was also busy reading and discussing speculative fiction for my role as a Cybils judge (bravo to Jonathan Stroud for his winning The Screaming Staircase - this was one of my favorite reads of 2013).

The other reason is that I was in Texas for a week, at a fantastic conference called TCEA.  Along with learning a ton, getting to know some district-wide colleagues and hearing some live music in Austin, I also had a chance to read my first c2014 titles of the year.  When I travel, I only read ebooks and since I didn't have any of the shortlisted MSBA titles that I needed to read on ebook, I ventured into 2014 territory.  Based on these titles, 2014 is going to be an amazing year in children's literature!

I am a huge fan of Cynthia Lord because she is an extraordinary writer and she is an incredibly kind  person.  My school won a full day visit from her a few years ago and she was unbelievably gracious and generous in sharing her time and energy with my students.  They will never forget her and they will be so excited to get their hands on her new book, Half a Chance.  In this gently impactful book, Lucy has moved with her parents to a lakeside home in NH, where once again she must make new friends and build a new life. Her dad is a photographer, always leaving for long trips and never really seeing either Lucy or the photos that she takes.  Unbeknownst to her dad, Lucy decides to enter a photo competition that he is judging; together with a new friend, Lucy seeks out and captures meaningful images while at the same time navigating the loneliness of her transition.  This is a lovely exploration of seeing the world through a unique lens!


Rodman Philbrick's new title Zane and the Hurricane kept me on the edge of my airplane seat all the way from Austin to Portland.  It is a gut (and heart) wrenching account of one boy's experience during hurricane Katrina.  Zane is in New Orleans just by chance when Katrina hits, visiting his great grandmother.  Through a series of horrifying events, he and his dog, Bandit, end up alone and terrified in his great grandmother's house.  What happens next, although fiction, seems all too close to the reality that happened to so many people in New Orleans during this storm and Philbrick captures the terror and desperation perfectly.  I loved the action in this book, but it was the relationships that had me sniffling and wiping my eyes - between Zane and Bandit, between his two rescuers (a jazz musician and a girl whose mother is incarcerated), and between the people of New Orleans who both helped and hurt each other during the storm.  This book is unforgettable to me and I can't wait to share it with my students.



Natalie Llloyd's A Snicker of Magic was a fun read.  Felicity's mom has a wandering heart and it takes Felicity all over the country, never allowing Felicity and her sister to settle, until they land in Midnight Gulch, the town her mom grew up in.  There used to be magic in this town, until a feud between two brothers ended it.  Felicity, a collector of words, befriends a special boy and together they work to track down the source of magic.  This is a beautiful fantasy that celebrate both images and words.







Finally, I have been wanting to read Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption since it first came out.  I was not disappointed - this biography of Louis Zamperini is unforgettable.  




I am so thrilled to have a week of vacation stretched out ahead of me to spend reading!  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/9/13

I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to Sheila, Jen and Kellee for inspiring and hosting this meme.

It was a week of graphic novel reading for me (well, one of them isn't technically a graphic novel, but it's close, as I explain below).  I am not naturally a graphic novel reader - for many years I read graphic novels as a professional obligation rather than for pleasure.  I tend to get overwhelmed visually and have a hard time taking in both the illustrations and the text, but many of my students love them, so as a librarian I am a fan.   In the past year, there have been several graphic novels which I truly loved (Cardboard, Giants Beware and Earthing!, all on this year's Maine Student Book Award list) so I am always on the hunt for more.

Recommended for gr. 1-5

Look Up!  Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate is not technically a graphic novel, but it shares some characteristics with that genre and I think it will appeal to many graphic novel readers.  Both informative and entertaining, Cate uses speech bubbles, a cartoon-like format, illustrations and factual information text boxes to encourage readers to closely observe the birds around them.  On top of the appealing format, this book is funny!  The author/illustrator pokes gentle fun at the many different kinds of birds that she clearly adores.  This book would be great for budding ornithologists and bird watchers alike!

Recommended for gr. 3-6

Matt Phelan's new offering, Bluffton: My Summers with Buster is a beautiful graphic novel that reads and feels more like an extended picture book.  The watercolor illustrations perfectly capture the emotions and mood of summertime on the lake in Michigan, circa 1908.  Bluffton tells the story of Henry Harrison, whose summers change radically when a troupe of vaudeville performers (including the Keatons) land in his sleepy lakeside town.  Henry and Buster become friends despite their different backgrounds and futures.  As an adult reader, it is interesting to speculate about Buster Keaton’s childhood, but I’m not sure that young readers even need to know about him to appreciate this story.  The illustrations tell the majority of this story and the text is minimal, making this a highly accessible book for readers of many ages!

Recommended for YA

I suffered through Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in high school and didn't really come to appreciate it until years later, when I brought a group of my own Romanian high school students to see the film version with Leondardo DiCaprio.  Thus, I am thrilled with Gareth Hinds' new graphic novel version entitled The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Hinds portrays Juliet’s family as being Indian and Romeo’s as being African in this hip new retelling.  The illustrations make it modern (and thus accessible to readers) and yet Hinds remains true to the language and literature of Shakespeare. Somehow, it works!



I also read a couple of heavy hitting non-kid lit books this week.  Tumbledown by Robert Boswell was intense and compelling, but not entirely enjoyable for me, whereas Jennie Shortridge's When She Flew completely captivated me.   Shortridge's book is based on the true story of a veteran and his daughter living entirely off the grid in the woods in Oregon.  In this fictionalized account, the father and daughter are found by birdwatchers and then tracked down by the police.  The questions of what makes a home, what makes a family and what is best for kids are all raised in this eminently readable story.