A New Home

For those of you that have become friends of our website — we want to thank you for your support, and let you know about some fun, new changes that we are in the process of making!  We are upgrading our book blog to a much more expanded version, with our very own website.  In the near future we will be adding additions, and expansions for students, children’s books, young adult fiction, as well as book challenges, writing competitions, and even featured author pages.

We are so excited to announce these new changes, and we are looking forward to a lot more growth with all of you that have shown such an enthusiastic interest in our blog.  And we are looking forward to your continued enjoyment, as well as your input into what you think of our new home.  We are still featuring RSS feeds, and we are hoping to encourage all of you to join us at our new home, which can be found at The Book Worms Library Website.

We have carried over all of our reviews from this page, and we will continue to add daily reviews at our new location.  We hope you like the changes we are making, and we hope to hear from you soon, especially with plenty of feedback, and suggestions.

See you all soon — at our new home: http://www.thebookwormslibrary.com/

The Last Boleyn by: Karen Harper

The test of historical fiction, in my opinion, has two criteria it must meet — in order to be successful. First – It must present sufficient information to encourage the reader to want to learn more about the subject, and second – It must provide an entertaining story that does not detract from the historical accuracy, while still creating fictional characters, or fictional scenarios that are true to the individual within that construct. One of the first steps in accomplishing these two goals is to pick a time, place, event, or person in history that is already worthy of having their story told.  The history of Anne Boleyn is certainly one of those stories.  Beginning to end, her life was one of complex contradiction; a fairy tale story turned nightmare.  And yet through it all, the character of Anne Boleyn is so strong that historically she outlived in memory all those around her — including her despotic husband that had a thing for severing heads.

This book satisfied both of these expectations, beautifully! The story, while told from an outside observation perspective of Anne, which gives us further insight not only into the woman that would become Queen of England, but it provides us with an amazing look into the social rise and fall of the once powerful Boleyn family. Narrated by Mary, Anne’s older sister, who was sent to court long before Anne had ever been considered a member of the royal entourage, she is a strong and insistent character.  Much more grounded in the moral quandary of right and wrong than Anne would eventually prove to be, Mary gives us an intimate look into what it once meant to belong to the royal court of King Henry VII.  And while, on one level this book is a love story, there is so much intrigue and politics of the time, it is hard to remember that somewhere under all the confusion there is a love story developing.  I found myself so angry with many of the characters at times that I just wanted to throw the book against the wall. Another sign of a successful book — when the reader becomes so involved that there is an emotional engagement with the characters.  The story, even though fictional to a certain extent, is engrossing, and held my attention beginning to end, and I felt stayed true to the historical facts of the time. And this book does offer one interesting insight into the world of politics, and international relations.  Politics is always messy, and always has been.  Where power is concerned, there is always so much corruption, and greed that there is guaranteed to be an interesting story to be told, if of course you can find it under all of the secrecy, and slight of hand.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is a history lover, or that just loves well written stories. Due to the time of the stories, there is much in the way of sex and infidelity. But all of these scenes are tactfully done. I frequently found myself irritated, and even mad at the treatment of the women characters — but it remained true to the beliefs of the time period, and the author demonstrates herself as a masterful writer through this book.

The Stolen Child by: Keith Donohue

This is a great story, as told by a very gifted author.  When I first started this book, I was very hesitant, since this isn’t usually the type of book I read.  But, wow, was I surprised.  The story has everything.  A great plot, characters that are so real you lose yourself in their lives, mystery, suspense, fantasy/fairy tales, Hobgoblins (or changelings if you prefer,) this is simply a story that would never have been very good if it had been told by an author that was any less talented.

The story is exactly what the title implies.  A small boy kidnapped when he was about seven years old, and a changeling that was left in his place to assume his life.  The story itself is presented in dual story lines told from the two different points of view.  That of the boy “Anaday” that was taken, and now lives among the changelings.  And the story of Henry Day — the boy that was left to assume the life of the boy that was taken.  And yet this story does an excellent job of combining the modern world with the old stories of the hobgoblins, and ultimately the fairy tale has successfully met reality.

The depth of the characters comes from the competing points of view that of Anaday, and that of Henry Day.  And while they keep a continuous story running, the depth is created through the overlap in the ongoing story line.  Each change in voice starts with a backtrack, and a presentation of an event or happening as seen from the two different perspectives.  There is the two different perceptions and understandings, which leads the characters to reveal more about themselves — by showing the reader the “other”, than a simple linear story would ever have been able to do.

What I particularly liked about the story is the presentation of the death of innocence as represented through many elements of this story.  The loss of Anaday’s innocence when he wakes up and realizes that he has become a hobgoblin.  There is the death of innocence as represented by Henry Day, as he seeks out and tries to discover his own past — the one that he was brutally taken from when he was a young boy — a hundred years before this new life of his occurred.  There is the death of innocence as represented through the dying belief of modern day people in the hobgoblin fairy tales — which makes it harder and harder for the band of hobgoblins to survive, and actually find children that they can change places with.  This is just a beautifully told story of the passing of one era, into another — and the death of primitive beliefs that occur as a result of this passage, and growth of “understanding.”

The emotional juxtaposition between Anaday, and Henry Day is a powerful, and symbiotic story.  To remove one would be to destroy the story completely.  Their interaction is so well done, that the reader actually comes away with a clear understanding of the perception of a child, and the perception of a man.  And in presenting this difference of understanding, the author has been able to explore the sorrow that accompanies the loss of childhood, as each individual grows into the adult version of a hard, and demanding world.  The reader almost feels that they would love to be the young hobgoblin trapped in eternal childhood — without the cares or responsibilities of adulthood.  And then the perception of adulthood, and the depth in relationships, and companionship’s that come with maturity.  This book is a great look into what it means to be truly human.  We are who we are, and it requires both the child, and the adult to make the person whole.  To separate the two leaves loneliness, and sorrow that is difficult to overcome.

And yet many times that is exactly what is happening in the world today.  So many young people are forced to grow up so fast — that childhood is not just left behind, but overlooked all together.  They learn to live on the street, and seek to be rid of the life of a family, and the burden of home life.  Simply put, this story is a powerful insight into how important a childhood is for every individual, and it offers a great understanding in learning how best to adapt the child, into the adult — so it can make a person whole.

I loved this story — and in fact I now consider it one of my favorite books.  It is so well told, and so enjoyable to simply lose yourself in another world, and forget the here and now.  This is a great book, and a fun read.

Dirty Little Angels by: Chris Tusa

This is a book that is both good and bad — but provides a good story for a debut novel.  The story, a young girl that struggles to come of age in a violent, drug filled world, in a dysfunctional family, struggles to find her own identity in the face of extremes.  This book is a hard look at life on the streets in a world that is starting to decay under the weight of crime, and the influences that crime has on a surrounding neighborhood. It also looks at the fading influence of some religion, while the extreme ideologies are rising, and having greater influence in our world.

I really enjoyed Mr. Tusa’s descriptive abilities.  The story was not trite, but offered a very real look into the difficulties that young people are facing today.  In a world where crime, drugs, violence, and families that are disintegrating under the struggle to simply survive — this book is a very real look into the challenges that exist in a very harsh world.  For this reason I would not recommend this book for everyone.  There is adult subjects and violence, as well as drug use that is very prevalent in this book.  And this story is brutally honest in its portrayal of these issues.  There are some passages that I struggled with, due to the cold nature of the criminal acts — and the cold brutality in which they are committed.  However, I have never been a person that believes that this does not exist, and therefore, I pretend it isn’t out there and never read about it.  But I recognize that not everybody is comfortable reading this kind of content — and it is definitely the subject content of this story.

The characters are both excellent, and need developing, depending on which  character you are looking at.  Hailey is a precocious teenager, if a little mature for her age.  However, Mr. Tusa does an excellent job at presenting the idea that she is mature due to the situation that she has had to grow up in.  She struggles with the things most teens do — friends, appearance, the fear of fitting in.  But there is also the problems she is learning to cope with, such as parents that have a failing marriage, as well as the realities of life as they are, and not always as she envisions them to be.  It is interesting to see her development in connection with the world that she lives in.  And it is also interesting to see how that world impacts her growth and development.  Hailey provides a great look into what it means to become desensitized to violence.  Frequently a witness to the acts of violence committed by Moses, and her brother Cyrus, it is somewhat disturbing to see the development of lack of sensitivity.  Hailey is at first shocked by what she witnesses, and then eventually starts to participate in these acts as she becomes immune to what she is witnessing.  This is a subject that is very prevalent in our society today.  The exposure that we have to violence is extensive through not just life on the streets, but also television, movies, video games, and even books have that modern element for harsh brutality.  This would make an interesting topic of study for this desensitization, as its development can be traced through characters in books, in modern day literature.  And Mr. Tusa has created a great example of this phenomenon in Hailey.

One thing that did keep me wondering in the book, in relation to the characters, was the interaction between Hailey, and Moses.  There seemed to be a flat personality in the character of Moses.  And much of that is because there is very little dialog that involves Moses.  I found that frequently, the conversations between Moses, and others, particularly Hailey, were often presented in third person — “he said that. . .”.   It left the character of Moses much less developed than I felt he could have been.  Especially in comparison to other characters in the book.

Overall, this was a pretty good story.  Very good descriptive language, and it is a very honest look into many of the problems that are facing our society today.  The characters could have been a little stronger, which would have made a much stronger book on the whole.  But the story itself, is interesting — but probably not for all audiences.  There is some pretty harsh language, extensive drug use, and even more extensive and vivid violence.

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

“Learn how to die, and you learn how to live.”
-Morrie Shwartz

Mitch Albom is not what I would term a literary genius. His writing is straightforward and the narrative easy to read. Nothing about his writing is fantastic or marvelous but something about his story is. The book is small, almost pocket size and less than 200 pages, the kind of book many could read in one sitting. However, Albom’s book literally changed my life. The way I viewed the world around me and my relationships with other people was forever altered after reading this book. I think about the little lessons in this book often and I still consider this one of the most powerful books I have ever read.

The book is a true story about Albom and his relationship with an old college professor, Morrie Shwartz. Albom is a middle aged sports writer, living a whirlwind life of newspaper deadlines, editor’s demands and putting everything in life second to his semi-successful career. He sees a news story one evening about one of his old college professors who is dying from Lou Gherig’s disease (ALS). He is stunned at seeing the story as he had been very close to Morrie. He makes a visit to Morrie, planning on seeing him just one last time. However, his visit, on a Tuesday, turns into a weekly affair. Morrie asks him to help him record his thoughts and lessons he would like to leave for the world. This story focused on a different Tuesday and a different lesson each Tuesday. The lessons ranged from life, relationships, fear, dying, marriage, money, American culture, and so many other lessons. Albom includes flashbacks in between each chapter to help readers come to understand Morrie better and the lessons he wants to leave. Albom is left completely and amazingly altered for the better by his Tuesday’s with Morrie. In experiencing this change in Albom, I experienced a similar change in myself. This book is not only worth reading but a book I would encourage everyone I know to read.

“This is a true story that shines and leaves you forever warmed by its afterglow” Amy Tan

“I laughed, cried and ordered five copies for our children.” Bernie S Siegel MD

“Every page of this beautiful moving little book shines with the warmth of unembarrassed love.” Rabbi Harold Kushner

Many may have read this book back in its heyday. It was very popular in the late 1990’s when it was first published. It was on the New York Times bestseller and Oprah Winfrey made a TV movie based on the book starring Hank Azaria and Jack Lemmon which won four Emmy Awards (while the movie is powerful, I would suggest reading the book first).

“The last class of my old Professor’s life…met on Tuesdays. No books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience. The teaching goes on.”

This excerpt from the book is exactly why I chose this book as my first review. I still think often about this book and the lessons Morrie Shwartz left behind that still teach all those who take the time to read this book.

The Road by: Cormac McCarthy

I have had several people tell me that this book is a must read. However, I can’t claim that it was worth my time. I have a hard time with a story that is only partially told. And this one definitely fit in that category. It is the story of a father and a son in a post apocalyptic world, that are on a quest to find the sea.  And I understand that it isn’t the journey of the story that is the issue so much as the lessons learned along the way, this book just really left me wondering.

I really struggle with a story that seams to be a snapshot, or cross section of a larger whole.  It makes it really hard for me to orient to the story, and it makes it much more difficult to identify with the characters.  And making this even more difficult is that the main characters remain nameless, non-entities beginning to end.  Simply known as “the man” and “the boy” there is very little for me to identify with in the character development.  I also found myself asking beginning to end, what happened to the world they once lived in, and how did it come to this.  And what is so important about reaching the sea?

On the positive side, however, I know that it is a book which challenges moral issues in our society — I just felt that there was a lot missing from this book.  But there are many questions that are asked, and left to the reader to make their own conclusions.  Things such as theft, murder, suicide, and the definition of a man, when everything that identifies humanity is stripped away, and we have to revert back to our origins.  I did find these questions compelling, and Mr. McCarthy doesn’t so much force his interpretation on the reader, so much as he guides the reader to their own conclusions to these difficult questions.  Frequently we encounter the issues of social justice, mercy, crime, murder, and other major issues of our day in the modern context, with all the surroundings of civility.  But what happens when we take all those trappings away?  Do men continue to act as men?

While I can’t say that I enjoyed this book, I did find the questions it asked of the reader valid, and even thought provoking.  And I also found this approach to those questions more compelling because it asks them in a context that we rarely ever consider.  What is the source of our moral values?  Is it the society we live in, or is it truly originating with us as individuals?  And can we ever know without completely removing everything that creates the superstructure of our society, so we can see what our reactions are in the most extreme of situations?

The Widow of the South by: Robert Hicks

This is a book that I found very surprising! Usually I avoid Civil War era books, and stories. I find that the subject is so much popular tripe, and the stories become cliche, and disappointing. However, this story proved to be an exception to the rule.  It is based on an unusual point of view — a woman, Carrie McGavock, whose home was commandeered as an army hospital, because it was at the site of one of the last battles of the war, the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. The story does more than break the saga of this war down to them against us, the North against the South.  Rather, this story takes a very real look at the human side of war, particularly a war that nearly destroyed this country.  And through out the story we are introduced to the medical practices of the time, (or lack thereof), and the devastation that was visited upon the cities of this country.  Most of us do not stop to realize that many homes became hospitals, and military bases.  Many acreage became cemeteries, and many people didn’t just hear about the war — but they lived in it, as it moved through their front yards, and destroyed everything in its path.  They were not just as side line spectators, but on the front lines of complete devastation.

Mr. Hicks has done a very good job of portraying the growth and development of all of the characters, without dropping the story, or loosing track of the course of the action. This book offered an interesting insight into the death throws of the old South as it was, before the war shredded the remains of a dying lifestyle. This book also does very well at demonstrating the difficulties encountered in the South, during the course of reconstruction; particularly the difficulties encountered by people in letting go of the past, and forging a new, and to them, unknown future. Ultimately I found this book to be a great picture, in historical fiction form, into the difficulties encountered by a dying gentry, as America struggled to move into a new age that was dependent on mechanized production, and not genteel trade sustained on the backs of slaves.

This book helps the reader look at the elements of a culture that defined the racial difficulties existing in the United States, and forces the reader to think about the origins of those differences — many of which have continued to survive into modern day. Few people realize that in some ways the scars of this era continue, and in some cases they even fester and develop into modern day struggles for racial equality.  We like to think that this lifestyle, and this dark era of our history died with the last of the Southern plantations.  However, a careful reading of this book allows the reader to realize how close to the surface these questions of race, and equality really are.  By understanding their origins, we come to see  that we, as a nation are still struggling to heal the wounds that nearly tore this country apart.

I found myself really enjoying this book, and would recommend it for anyone that enjoys reading historical fiction.  Not only is Carrie McGavock a really fun character, but she gives us a front line view of a struggle that continues throughout this country today, and she also allows us to see the death throws of the old South, as a once great culture struggled to adapt and change in a rapidly shifting world.

Fever 1793 by: Laurie Halse Anderson

This is a book that when I first picked it up, I had no idea that there had ever been a Yellow Fever epidemic in this country, immediately following the American Revolution.  Nor did I ever have any idea how devastating this epidemic was.  This story, while historical fiction, is one that I found very informative, and a great story at the same time.  Set in 1793, Philadelphia, the Yellow Fever, occurring through that summer proved to be devastating to the people of the town.  Killing at least ten percent of the population, while over half the rest of the city’s residents abandoned the city for safer homes.  This is the story of the survivors of a tragic event.  Isolated from the rest of the country around them, living in a forced quarantine, with almost no food, dying medical staff, too little knowledge about treating the fever, climbing orphan populations, and burials climbing by the day, this book is a real eye opener.

And what I found of particular interest is the impact, and the means of survival that these people had to go through.  As we face a potential Influenza epidemic of our own this coming fall, and winter, I couldn’t help but see much of our own world in this thought provoking story.  I tried not to, since we like to think that in this modern age, the medical profession can solve anything, and that a sever epidemic will never be this devastating.  But what I found interesting was not so much the devastation of the fever, but the results of the hype, and the paranoia.  As people became more and more afraid they started moving farther away from what they considered the source of the problem.  But without knowing what the true source was, and without understanding how this deadly fever was spread, they only escalated the problem as they transported it to other cities.  This forces one to think, particularly in our very mobile society today that this could potentially become a significant problem.  As people try to run from something, and seek out safety, how much more damaging could a true epidemic today be?

The writing in this book is well done, and is a great and informative story for young adults, and adults alike.  It not only teaches of a little known time in our own, American history, but it also gives us a look into the devastation that a serious epidemic can be.  It makes us take a look at how little we have changed when it comes to dealing with this kind of fear.  And how more knowledge, and understanding could be so much more beneficial than panic and paranoia.

The characters are wonderfully done.  Mattie is very real, and very easy to identify with, especially when it comes to her troubles in her relationship with her mother.  And her grandfather is a fantastic character.  I found myself loving him from beginning to end.  This book is a great historical fiction novel, and one that I found an easy, and enjoyable read.  But even though it is written for a younger audience, there is much that I found in it to think about, and reflect up0n.

Kaffir Boy by Mark Methabane

Kaffir Boy is an autobiography by Mark Methabane (born Johannes Methabane).  Mark was born into Alexandra, and contrary to it’s beautiful name, it is a ghetto of Johannesburg, South Africa.  South Africa is ruled by Afrikaners, the white elite, who have systematically set up laws of Apartheid, which keep the white elite and the blacks living in squalor and ignorance.  Mark’s earliest memories are of sleeping on a cardboard mat under the kitchen table while the rats and red ants eat at his hands and feet. Mark was accustomed to the ever present and constant hunger gnawing away at his little stomach.  Mark and his family didn’t only skip meals they couldn’t afford, they would go days without eating.  Mark lived in utter terror of the white and black policeman who were incessantly raiding his ghetto, looking for blacks whose passes weren’t in order to deport to the tribal lands, which were no more than forlorn desserts, set aside for the black population.  Since it was nearly impossible for blacks to have their passes in order under the ridiculous Apartheid laws, both Mark’s parents lived in constant fear of these raids and deportation.  The raids were brutal and the police were brutal as well, treating Mark and his siblings less than dogs.  Mark documents his growing up years and the times spent ravaging the garbage dumps for food for his family, being a member of a gang to ensure survival, feeling so forlorn at 10 that he tries to kill himself, witnessing horrific murders by the Tsotsi, a vicious and terrible gang.

While the book is dreadful and discouraging, often times filling me with a sense of shock and frustration as well as indignation, Mark’s story also examined the indomitable nature of the human spirit.  Mark was lucky enough to be born to a mother who was wise and astute.  She had a husband who gambled and drank what little money they did earn away.  Despite his bitter feelings against wasting money on an education for his children, Mark’s mother stood firm against his railings and beatings.  She sacrificed all she had to educate her children, knowing that in education, her children might have a chance to escape the hell she had known all her life.  Working herself ragged, she was able to secure an education for her children.  Mark took to learning like a fish to water.  His thirst for knowledge was unquenchable and his desire to read and learn amazing.  After overcoming the local stigma that education was only to make one a puppet for the white man, Mark thrived.  He proclaims in his book that “voracious reading was like an anesthesia, numbing me to the harsh life around me.”  He consistently scored number 1 in his class.  Eventually earning himself scholarships to help pay for his schooling.

With the chance meeting of some whites who disagreed with the local Apartheid laws, Mark came to see a view of the world different from the large majority of the Blacks living in the ghetto.  He came to learn that not all whites hated the blacks and that prejudices and erroneous thought could be overcome.    He also learns to “overcome the type of shame that leads many people to deny their heritage, to forget where they come from, for the sake of acceptance.”  When Mark finds tennis and meets some famous American tennis players his world is changed completely.  Ultimately Mark must make the choices that will either help him climb out of the pit of the ghetto and racial barriers through tennis and education or succumb to his father and gang of friends in the ghetto who encourage him to accept his lot in life and grow up hating and fighting and clawing life away.

This book was amazing and unlike most books dealing with harsh and horrific eras in history it left me uplifted.  It left me in complete admiration for Mark, his mother, and those around him who sacrificed and fought a system to overcome tremendous odds.  The writing is flawless and beautiful in a prose that is easy to read.  The writing is unflinchingly honest and straight forward, leaving the reader with a sense of life in Apartheid South Africa.  Overall I was left being in awe of the human spirit and all it can accomplish even in bitter circumstances.

The City of Ember by: Jeanne DuPrau

At first I was a little frustrated with this book, because it was driving me crazy why these people were living underground — with no explanation.  And yet the first chapter indicates they are taking refuge from some kind of cataclysmic catastrophe.  These types of books I find very irritating, because I will spend the entire book asking the same old question “That is great, but what are they doing there!!!?”

Fortunately this didn’t prove to be a problem for long.  Because, even though the question kept bothering me throughout the book, it didn’t take me long to realize that this is the first book of a series, and that the bedrock of this question is what drives the story.  And beyond that, I found the story compelling.  I really found myself enjoying the story as I came to identifying elements of a long displaced culture that have survived within this society that has no idea about its origins.  Well constructed this is a great story for kids, and even young adults.  (Adults will probably struggle with some of the situations — like the main characters only being 12 years old — but it is easily looked past.)

I also really enjoyed the characters.  For all of their difference because they have lived in a world completely dependent on electric light, which is failing, it is still quite surprising at how many emotional connections I was able to make with the characters in this book.  And though the main characters, Lina, and Doon come across as much older than their 12 years, and at times I found myself forgetting they were children because of some of the situations they get into, I found that they were enjoyable, and well conceived and developed.

This is a great book for an end of the summer read.  It provides adventure, and a little bit of mystery, in a clean and well written story.  Excellent for young readers!