Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Book, Movie & Podcast Reviews my own book page

Kathy,

Chelsea only showed up in the "trained pigs" bit.

There were pictures of some of the trees. But they may have been of the tree where "artists" designed ornaments illustrative of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

Yes, tongue in cheek. But when I told my friend Tessa the Chelsea story, she asked, "Martha, how can you believe anything written by someone who thinks George Will is a liberal?" It's a good question.

I felt dirty, too. Like I said, I wound up not liking anyone connected with the book--the author or those about whom he write.

Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese, a young adult novel, is okay—certainly not, IMHO, worth the praise it has garnered. It has an interesting structure, switching around among the current present where the protagonist, Adam Farmer, is on a lengthy bike trip to see his father, interviews between Adam and a person who appears to be a psychiatrist, and the last several years of Adam's life. Through the interviews and flashbacks, it is learned that his father has done something questionable, at best. Sadly, I didn't think what he did came anywhere close to meeting what the buildup promised, but the book has an interesting time element that will keep me from completely dismissing it.

Another Cormier novel, The Rag and Bone Shop, is advertised on Cheese's last page and sounds fairly interesting. Because of the time twist in Cheese, I might give Cornier a second chance.

Clarification of point in yesterday's posting:

My reference to George Will as a liberal was tongue in cheek. Not so the author of Unlimited Access. He lumped Will right on in with the liberal media. For real.

Thanks for clarifying, Martha.

EmmaG

Mostly I enjoyed The Starplace, a young adult novel by a Vicki George. I liked the subject matter, the friendship between two eighth grade girls—one black, one white—in a small Oklahoma town in 1961. Now, as I've probably said before, after my twelve years of teaching at Alabama A&M University, stories with a racial angle pretty much always interest me. But since my enjoyment of The Starplace only rated a mostly, I'll start with the problem I had.

Yes, Miss Picky was again on my shoulder, and some references to events in 1961 bothered both of us—enough so that I just finished checking them out. The narrator's father watches a newscast about the Berlin Wall going up. My guess would have been that the wall was started in the 1950s, but I was wrong. Building began in August 1961; The Starplace begins right before the first day of school. Guess Ms George was right on that one. But she goes on to mention the panic it created and how atomic bomb drills—the old hide-under-your-desk routine, increased. It didn't feel right. I remember those drills as part of elementary school, which for me would have been the fifties. By 1961 I was in high school, and Starplace's narrator was in junior high. Drills under the desk just seem wrong.

My second picky point was a passing reference, specifically "the stores are full of blue-eyed Barbies and Kens." (page 118) 1961 seemed early. Fact checking revealed the first Barbie went on sale in 1959, Ken in 1961. All right, it is close, but come on, Martha. As a writer, what would you have done? The same as Vicki George, all the while hoping I'd never have a reader as picky as I can be. Actually, I would have left off Ken.

Now though, since I started out with possible negatives, let me dish out a few strongly felt pluses.

1) I'm a sucker for foreshadowing, and at one point in the novel both girls had made it into a select singing group called the Ladies of Harmony. A chapter ends with: "When I think of that title and then think of how things worked out that semester, I don't know whether to laugh or cry." With a come-on like that, there's no way I'll stop reading.

2) The Ladies of Harmony sing at a country club. The narrator remarks, "To this day, when I imagine true luxury, I picture myself coming up dripping out of a pool, sticking my feet into rubber flip flops, and walking thirty feet to get fed anything I want at a table with a white cloth and flowers." (page 155) That's as good a definition of luxury as I've ever read. (But now I wonder: when did rubber flip flops first appear? Stop it, Martha! Ok.)

3) I also enjoyed the author's sense of humor. The narrator goes horseback riding on the most gentle horse in the stable. And what's the gentle horse named? Heathcliff. Of course.

In addition to the specifics above, the story itself is pretty good. There's a house that could be haunted, a huge field covering an old mine where workers were routinely left to die, and a bit of history about the KKK. Who could ask for anything more?

Martha, you convinced me to order "The Starplace." Amazon has a used copy for $.01 but of course I'll have to pay ~$3.00 in shipping, still a good bargain.

I was born in 1944 and I NEVER remember those atomic drills. I guess people in South Carolina didn't think they were significant enough to get bombed. I do remember watching the search lights in the sky and people being asked to be on the Civil Air Patrol -- but that isn't mentioned in your review, my mind just wandered.

I wonder about the flip-flops too. I can't remember owning any way back then.

I've started the DeVries book. So far I haven't found any belly laughs but I'm still in the 1/25th of the book! I'm taking really good care of it.

Kathy

Blasphemy is a good title for a Douglas Preston's latest novel. Travesty would have also worked. Or Annoy the Reader.

The premise is a group of scientists has built a computer that can duplicate the Big Bang theory and thereby disprove the Biblical view of creation. That in turn upsets Christian fundamentalists, and the government, fearing loss of votes, gets involved. Actually all that produces some interesting conflicts until the reader learns it's all a con, devised by a scientist whose hero is L. Ron Hubbard.

My advice? Do not read this book, not even if you're promised a trip around GO, $200 and a get-out-of-jail free card.

I liked Mildred D. Taylor's The Land, a YA novel that bills its as a prequel to Newberry Medal Winner Roll of Thunder; Her My Cry, which in a matter of minutes goes on my wish list at B&N.com. The basic premise of The Land is good. The narrator, Paul, is a teenager, the son of a southern landowner and one of his slaves. Paul has an older sister, and the father has raised the two of them alongside his three sons from a marriage to a white woman—alongside as much as the times would allow, the times being a few years after the Civil War.

Paul has the misfortune to be light-skinned enough to be able to pass for white, which he has no interest in doing. Once he leaves his father's home, he wants to make it on his own as a man who is half black, half white. His primary goal is to own a piece of land he discovers while moving from job to job. His race is an impediment to that ever happening.

My one complaint with the book was that in the early part of Paul's quest, everything seemed to be too easy for him. He has a job as a carpenter; his work is respected and sells well. He meets the perfect young lady. He's able to find a white man who is willing to sell Paul some land if he clears it so the owner can sell the lumber. At that point I started thinking, okay, let's have some problems here. Ms Taylor has her protagonist up in a tree; it's time for rocks to be thrown. And, sure enough, a few pages later the rocks arrive. Everything goes wrong, and for me at least the last half of the book is pure page-turner.

If you're interested in Reconstruction history and/or race relations, I strongly recommend this book.

A Newbery book has never let me down -- until "Miracles on Maple Hill." 1956 must not have been a great year for JF. The story of a father deeply trouble who finds salvation by returning to his wife's roots as told through the eyes of his daughter is sweet. Sweet as the syrup that I learned a lot about making.

I read one-half of the book and decided that I could pretty much predict the coming miracles and would abandon reading and go out and find some real ones on my own.

Respectfully,

Kathy Albers

I really liked David Mizner's second book, Hartselle USA, liked it enough that I have now read his first book, Political Animal, which did contain a few made-me-go-hmmm moments. Specifically:

1) "… nothing ruins sexual tension like sex." (page 17) Wanna bet Mizner was a Cheer's fan—at least for awhile.

2) Mizner's narrator discusses the recently—in the book recently—reinstated NY death penalty. "We give capital defendants good lawyers and fair trials. Alabama we're not. Yes, we're going to execute people now, but with compassion." (page 36) Ignoring the far-from-kind Alabama reference, the statement definitely appeals to the librul in me.

3) Describing the owner of a sandwich shop: "She's like Julia Roberts playing a beaten-down girl; you cant take her pain seriously." (page 268) Yup. I'm pretty sure he's onto something there.

But mostly after finishing Political Animal, I really liked David Mizner's second book.