Small Town Sinners
Melissa Walker
Bloomsbury
2011
Do you remember when exactly you started to realize that your parents didn't know all the answers and weren't always right? Do you remember when you started to form your own opinions that differed from those of your parents? I do, and I don't. I think all parents try to raise their children to the best of their abilities, teaching them what is helpful and what can be harmful (I hate the words "good" and "bad"), and I think that for all parents, the time when their children start making choices of their own - whether helpful or harmful - is extremely difficult (I'm kinda guessing, as I have no children of my own).
Small Town Sinners is an amazingly crafted novel that examines this phenomenon from the point of view of the child. Lacey Ann has grown up in West River - a small, God fearing community. Lacey Ann's dad is the youth pastor at the church, and every year the youth put on a production called "Hell House" - a house of sin production aimed at bringing souls to Christ. The book begins when Lacey is finally old enough to audition for a main role, and Lacey wants to be Abortion Girl. Lacey knows that her performace will show people the truth as she knows it: that abortion is wrong and that Christ is the answer.
Enter the mysterious Ty. Lacey has never met anyone like Ty before - his smile melts her resolve, but more importantly, she can talk to him like she can't talk to her parents or her best friends. She can talk to him about her doubts and worries when it comes to the church, her friends and the things that happen in West River. However Lacey's parents don't approve of Ty, and when "bad" things start happening to Lacey's friends, she finds it easier to talk to Ty and more difficult to talk to her parents. All of a sudden, Lacey finds herself questioning what she believes and how she has been raised and wonders if she'll be able to resolve the two.
I know there was a time that I realized that my parents - and some of their views - were wrong. I also know that my own personal faith/values journey has been more extreme than that of most. In my lifetime I've been on the extreme ends of many ethical/religious arguments. And I think I've come to a pretty happy place in who I am, what my values are and what I believe. While reading Small Town Sinners I heard my own voice and my own thoughts echoed in what Lacey Ann was going through. I remember times where I was so angry at my parents because I didn't think they could hear me (and sometimes, honestly, they couldn't) and other times where, in hindsight, they could hear me, but their wisdom was beyond my understanding.
Walker has created a wonderful cast of characters who are more honest than many teens think they can be - with themselves, each other and the adults in their lives - who I think will both speak to and encourage young people struggling with who they are and what they believe. I also love the way she portrays West River! It is a christian community that is wholly human - they make mistakes in their pursuit of the Kingdom of God, but for the most part, the people don't forget that they are merely human. Often times people outside of the christian community don't understand the "zeal" of "believers" and see them, as, well crazy zealots. And, admittedly, some people - regardless of faith tradition - are crazy zealots. Walker clearly and plainly brings humanity, respect and dignity to the "zealots" in her book, allowing the reader to disagree with their beliefs, but still respect them for their dedication. It's amazing.
I would recommend this to anyone who has a friend or family member they consider a "religious zealot". I would also recommend this to parents whose children are starting to stretch their own wings and figure out who they are, as well as the children (pardon me...I mean teenagers - they HATE being called children) starting to realize their parents don't have all the answers. It's an excellent book that shows the many perspectives of any given issue and how to love those around you regardless of their perspective. I will say, I'm not sure it's appropriate for middle grade
Unbroken
Laura Hillenbrand
Random House
2010
Check out the label cloud over there on the right. See how relatively small the nonfiction label is? Yeah, it's pretty small. That's because I like fiction. Lots. But every once in awhile an excellent nonfiction book works its way into my stack. How thankful I am that Unbroken made its way into that pile. And as rare as it is for me to read nonfiction, it's also rare for me to read a book that immediately makes me think "Wow, my dad would love this book!" See, my dad is my inspiration for reading (see my post What Type of Reader are You? to understand why), and in the nearly 30 years we've both been readers, our reading tastes have starkly diverged. On the rare occasion that I come across a book my dad would love, I get extremely excited and can't wait to recommend it to my Papa.*
Unbroken is the story of Louis "Louie" Zamperini. It follows him through his entire life, starting with his troubled childhood in Torrence, California. It then follows his quest for Olympic gold in the 5000m and his attempt at being the first man to run a 4-minute mile. Then it follows him as he serves the Army Air Forces as a bombardier - crashing in the Pacific, surviving on a raft for over 40 days, and ending up as a POW in Japan. THEN it follows his post-war life as he tries to destroy himself and ultimately reinvents himself yet again in a way that I did not see coming.
Oh, and it's about 400 pages, not including 50+ pages of notes and the extensive index at the end.
Truthfully, the length didn't bother me at all. It was so good, I cranked out about 200 pages in a day - one of those blissful days that involved little more than a comfy blanket, some ice cream, the occasional bathroom break and a good book. Much like my favorite book The Power of One, this book reminded me of the power of the human spirit. It reminded me that some of us - not all of us - have within us a resilience that allows us to take just about anything life throws at us and make it our proverbial b!tch. Louie never claims to be super-strong or amazing, but those around him always knew that he was exceptional. He, much like my favorite character every PeeKay, simply went through life putting one foot in front of the other, doing whatever was needed to survive. And I suppose that is all that most of us do - some of us are just required to stretch much further in order to survive.
In the end, this book gave me yet another perspective on WWII. And it gave me yet another reason to thank those who serve and fight for us. What they go through for our freedom is unbelieveable. Wow.
As a librarian, I would recommend this book to just about any adult interested in nonfiction, survival stories, or well-written books in general. I would not recommend this book for younger readers - it's pretty intense. High school would most likely be OK, but definitely not middle school.
*Fun story: As soon as I finished the book, I met up with my dad and said "Dad, you absolutely have to read this book!" His response? "I already read it. Man, how much can one guy go through?" Foiled again!
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs
Quirk Publishing
2011
Holy creepy book Batman! I've admitted to being a wuss before, but I really think this book would give just about anyone the heebie-jeebies. Having said that, YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. Wow. Wow wow. It's sooooo good. And I hate scary things. But this book had me hook line and sinker from the get go.
So here's the basic storyline. Jacob has grown up around his very peculiar grandfather, Abe, who always told him stories of children with special gifts - an invisible boy, a levitating girl and a boy who had bees living inside him. When Jacob was very young he believed his grandfather's tall tales, but as he got older, he realized that there was no way the stories could be true. When Jacob's grandfather dies mysteriously, Jacob suddenly wants to know more about Abe's odd childhood. Finally, Jacob convinces his own father to travel with him to the small British Island where Abe grew up in search of some answers. What he finds are more than answers and will lead him to believe all his grandfather's stories and lead him into great danger.
And that's all I'm going to tell you.
Ok, I lied. Here's some more. This book has it all: history, fantasy, science fiction, time travel, creepy crawlies, bullies, bad guys, good guys, bad guys disguised as good guys, oh...and some serious sheep do-do. But what really makes the book stand out is Riggs' use of antique photographs. First off, some of the photographs are down right creepy (demonic Santa Clause posed with two innocent children on a reindeer? Creeptastic). However all of the photos add to the storyline. The story starts out with Abe showing Jacob the pictures and telling him the stories, and it comes full circle in the end.
I will admit that I started reading this book one night before bed and promptly had to put it down. The next day I went through the entire book looking at the pictures in an attempt to un-creepify them. Then I restricted myself to reading only when it was light outside (though the middle of the book is not so creepy, it's just great writing, so that part I could read before bed). I also started to freak out about shadows (eeeh...they're ruined for me forever) and, I won't lie, considered sleeping with a lamp or two on one night. And you can bet your knickers I checked and double checked the locks before going to bed each night. Which reminds me....
I recently finished another amazing book (no spoilers here) and came to my blog to write the review and realized that I hadn't published a single review yet this month! What the...?
So once again, just wanted to let you know a few things:
- I have been reading. Lots and lots. Oodles and oodles. I even gave up movie time with my guy last weekend to read (in my defense, he was watching Beavis and Butthead).
- I have been writing reviews, I just haven't finished any. I get about 1/2 way through the review and something comes up so I save it to be finished later but then later never comes...
- I GRADUATED!!!! Pretty soon I'll be a full-fledged librarian. But the best news is I don't have to take any classes this semester! Wahoooo!
- School is about to start, so yeay! And boo...because there goes my free time.
- I promise to have at least 4 reviews up by the end of the month. I promise promise. Two of them are going to be AWESOME because I've just finished reading some truly awesome literature.
- Book Club Ladies - I'm coming back someday, I promise.
Oh, and if you have read any good books lately, please let me know. I'm looking for recommendations for adult books. Now that grad school is over I feel like it's going to be completely acceptable for me to read some adult books now and then.
Happy Reading!
Suzanne
Cryer's Cross
Lisa McMann
narrated by Julia Wehlan
Truthfully, I'm on the fence about this book, and I'm not sure if it's because I listened to the audiobook or because the book is a bit weird. I'm starting to wonder how my opinion of books is shaped by the audiobook. I wonder if the audio version doesn't absolutely thrill me from the get-go then I don't like the book in the end as much, or if I think it's boring or moves slowly because the narrator speaks slowly. But that's another debate.
Cryer's Cross is a remote town in Montana where students are starting to mysteriously disappear. The book begins with the main character, Kendall, recalling how she felt being a part of the search party for the first missing teen, Tiffany. Then a few months later when Kendall's boyfriend starts acting weird and disappears as well, her life is thrown into turmoil. To make matters worse, Kendall is extremely obsessive compulsive, so her brain races all the time - except when she's playing soccer or dancing.
When Nico (Kendall's boyfriend) disappears, the obsessive compulsive in Kendal notices that Nico and Tiffany sat at the same desk, and that the desk had been brought up earlier in the spring when the class got too big. She convinces herself that it has to be a coincidence and works very hard to distract herself with soccer and dancing so that her constantly racing OCD brain doesn't take over. But the oddities that keep cropping up make it impossible for Kendall to let go of the possibility that Nico is alive and needs her help, and she must constantly decide whether what's happening is real or whether she's going crazy.
What made this book difficult to finish is that the jacket cover promised a sci-fi thriller type of book (which it is) but the first half of the book is more realistic fiction with really odd teasers at the beginning of each chapter which are, at first confusing and a little intriguing, but then become annoying and confusing until about the last chapter of the book. The book's saving grace is the ending - very thrilling (read: it scared the pee out of me*).
I don't know who I would recommend this book to, but I have a feeling that it would be pretty popular with teenagers for two reasons. First, Lisa McMann is a pretty popular YA author (she wrote the crazy popular Wake series). And second, the plot is sooooo out there - I think kids will like it because they really think if they spend too much time at school they'll go crazy and disappear.
*Author's Note: I am an absolute wuss. If something "scares the pee out of me" it could be anything from creepy music in a commercial to someone walking into my office without me seeing them coming. So really...probably not that scary.
