Male Monday: Wolf Mark

Wolf Mark by Joseph Bruchac 2011 (ARC)
Tu Books/Lee & Low


Rating: 1.5/5

IQ "They say it's always darkest before the dawn. But what do you do when the sun comes up and it's still not a new day?" Dad pg. 338

Lucas King knows a lot, but what he doesn't know is what exactly his father does as a Black Ops infiltrator. He doesn't know why his family moves around so much. He doesn't know what happened exactly to his Uncle Cal, only that he's dead. When Luke and his father settle in a new town (I don't remember where, I think a small town out West) it seems as though they will be there for a while and maybe Luke can finally adjust and be invisible to everyone except his new friends, Meena and Renzo. But Luke has to come out of the shadows when his dad goes missing and he spots mysterious men near their trailer, he suspects they are waiting for him. Now Luke is on the run and with the help of some mysterious Russian hipsters, Luke might manage to out wit the kidnappers and save his father. But can the hipsters be trusted? And why exactly was his father kidnapped?

I wanted to like this book. The first book published by Tu Books, an imprint whose mission I adore. I have really liked previous books by Joseph Bruchac and yet Wolf Mark was a disappointment for me. First, this book commits one of my little pet peeves which is short but many chapters. There are 73 chapters, 374 pages and about five pages per chapter. I think that's a waste of a chapter, especially since each chapter ended SO DRAMATICALLY which was pointless. Why end with a cliffhanger when the reader will just turn the page and discover the big secret? It creates pointless drama and after awhile it becomes annoying and ridiculous. Another thing that bothered me was the character of Meena. She's Pakistani as the author likes to remind us whenever he bothers to mention her, she's solely there to be the love interest and the climax of the book features one of the most cliche scenes concerning love interests. I legitimately rolled my eyes. Plus I didn't understand why the author was obsessed with talking about the 'repressive culture' of Muslims in Pakistan and how Luke and Meena could never be together because of her father and yet when her father is introduced he doesn't seem all that conservative...But what finally drove me to the edge and made it impossible for me to finish this book was ALL THE METAPHORS. Not only were there too many metaphors, some of them were just strange. here's a sampling "I'd be listening as avidly as a lion in a zoo does when i hears the footsteps of its keeper approaching at feeding time with a bucket of raw meat. Growling with happy expectations" (pg. 178), "I'm further down the social ladder from them than a worm is from an eagle" (pgs. 17-18) and "she gives a little nod at that piece of information I've fed her as carefully as a zoo-goer slipping a piece of fruit through the bars to a sharp-beaked bird" (pg. 214). These metaphors are too long, too random and too ridiculous. Who thinks/talks/writes like that?

I could not even focus on the spy elements of the novel which I had thought would be the best part of the book because I was so busy rolling my eyes at the metaphors. I was also irked at how cliche the climax was, not only with Meena but also with the evil villain. And Luke even acknowledges that the whole scene is completely cliche but then....the author does nothing to make the scene any less of a cliche. Luke also intentionally reads like a know-it-all. He explains that he remembers everything, which is fine, but he feels the need to spout random facts that are completely irrelevant. Furthermore, there were dramatic moments in the story where Luke would say something like "I started thinking about....." and it would be SO RANDOM and take away from that particular scene that was getting interesting and dissolve into some philosophical musings (one particular scene towards the end comes to mind). I do however think that the genetically engineered beast hybrids were creative if not sad. And while I didn't like how the author used Luke as a mouthpiece to express his views, he makes some great points. Luke is also a funny guy which never hurts.

Wolf Mark has some good elements but they do not create the exciting story I was hoping for. The author clearly wants his readers to learn a lesson (he says as much in the Afterword) the problem is that the story is sacrificed for the lessons and the audience is forgotten. I was also bothered at how the evil villains all had to be racist. One of them kept saying "Honest Injun" which I thought was a phrase people stopped using around the '70s...but maybe in small towns? Or is it a Western expression? I don't know but it was jarring and it sounded alien to my ears which made the character who said it even more of a joke. Between the caricature characters (the elite Russian mafia-esque students that Luke sort-of befriends had potential but they are all so one-dimensional), the overuse of metaphors (I'm starting to realize that sometimes metaphors are not one's friends) and the random tangents on various aspects of today's societies (rants about our foreign policy, war in general, racism, etc) I could not handle this package. The many short chapters ironically enough made it harder for me to want to finish this book because it seemed to never end.

Disclosure: Received from Tu Books. Thank you! Especially for starting the imprint Tu Books =D

Mini Reviews: Half of a Yellow Sun, Substitue Me, Till You Hear From Me

Till You Hear From Me by Pearl Cleage 2010
One World Books/Random House

"That was another thing he liked about Toni. She shared his ability to dismiss any claims of racial solidarity that conflicted with the interests of their clients. He thought of the two of them as part of the vanguard of post-racial African American professionals who were free at last to pimp the race without pretending they were trying to save it." Wes pg. 27

Ida B. Dunbar is a 30-something who loves politics. She poured her heart into President Obama's campaign and she's hoping that will pay off with a White House job. She never receives that phone call however and it doesn't help that her father, Rev. Horace Dunbar, a civil rights icon has a fiery, politically incorrect video up on YouTube that is not particularly flattening to say the least (think Jeremiah Wright). Ida's father's friends are concerned and they call her to ask her to come home to Atlanta's West End neighborhood to try and talk some sense into The Rev. Ida knows that it's a hopeless task but she decides that she might as well try while she hopes for a job in D.C., the city she loves. To her surprise, her old neighbor and son of her father's best friend, Wes Harper is also back in town. Ida had a crush on him as a kid but she hasn't seen him in years and he's shifty and it's well known that he isn't an Obama (or much of a Black-people) supporter. Ida needs to resist Wes, reconnect with her father and position herself to get the job she wants, but she needs to remember 'nothing changes but the changes.'

This book is advertised as an "Obama-era romance featuring a cast of unforgettable characters." The characters are good but they are forgettable except for Wes and that's merely because he's so ridiculously unlikable. The Incredible Quote resonated with me because there are many people who do think like that and to a certain extent I can understand why people do think that way. I do not believe we are in a post-racial society (well I don't agree with the statement at all but I'm not going to explain that here) but I had hoped that the author would have a less-biased approach towards Wes, Toni and any other characters like them. Instead the author makes them caricatures without really exploring what circumstances in their personal history makes them feel that they can/should 'pimp the race' so-to-speak. Also there is no romance. I don't even know where that came from but it's such a false advertisement. I didn't care, I picked up the book because it used the words "Obama-era" (I kid you not) and I had heard good things about Pearl Cleage. The most frustrating part of the boo however is that one of the most exciting confrontations occurs off the pages. To say I was annoyed is putting it mildly, this book crawls along but I had been anxiously awaiting the confrontation. And then it was basically ignored!

Till You Hear From Me has frustrating ending and a far-from neutral tone combined with slow pace which makes it hard to really like the book. I did enjoy reading about what it might be like to be the child of a civil rights legend and how that affects Ida's view of life. The Rev can be suffocating and very proud but he's also very loving and Ida is constantly inspired by him so it's interesting to read about her struggle to find a balance in their relationship so that The Rev no longer dominates her life. Also the author touches on discontent amongst some in the Black community who originally supported Pres. Obama but now want him to do more for Black people and her approach is more even concerning those characters. Fun fact: as much as The Poisonwood Bible annoyed me I was pleased that because of that book I knew who Fannie Lu Lumumba was named after (freedom fighter Patrice Lumumba of Congo). The storyline was original, the writing good but it did not wow me. The characters all resembled people I know so it felt like reading a book about the people I know all grown-up.

Disclosure: Bought

PS I did love this conversation between Flora and Ida

"'And I want to be part of that [changes in America] more than I ever wanted to be part of anything so that when I get old, I can look around and see the changes and say, Yeah I helped make that happen.'
We just sat there for a minute. I think I was talking to myself as much as I was talking to Flora.
'Well,' she said finally. 'I think you can stop worrying about looking for that real good man.'
'Why is that?'
'You just fell in love with your country, girlfriend, and nobody can compete with that." pg. 222 I LOVE that quote because I felt the same way right after then-Sen. Obama won the presidential campaign. It was definitely the moment I fell in love with my country (obviously I'd always loved America but this was the first conscious moment I remember really feeling proud).


Substitute Me by Lori Tharps 2010
Atria Paperback/Simon & Schuster

IQ "You make it sound like every White woman should be afraid that some Black hussy is going to seduce her husband. That's not what happened with Brad and me." Zora pg. 296

Zora Anderson is 30 years old and she has been an au pair in France for eight years. When she moves back to America she doesn't know what career she wants having not finished college because she wasn't interested in anything she studied. Fortunately for Zora she spots an ad for Brad and Kate Carter who are looking for a nanny, the exact wording that Mrs. Carter put in was "substitute me". As cliche as it sounds, Mrs. Carter will soon learn the very painful adage firsthand of being careful what you wish for especially when there are secrets in your household contained by every member of the family (except Ollie, the baby).

At first Zora sounded a little like me (or at least she had similar opportunities I have had and want to have, such as living in Europe or at least another country for awhile. We lost our connection whenever cooking was mentioned, haha) "she loved cooking, she loved traveling, and she liked kids. She liked feeling useful, and she liked being in beautiful spaces. She loved music and dancing and the taste of a foreign language rolling off her tongue. She loved reading literary fiction with multicultural characters and watching spoken-word poetry performances in intimate theaters. All of these things made her happy, but none of them fell under any job description she'd ever seen" (pg. 18). I could relate to that statement until I took a Comparative Government&Politics class and discovered I LOVE international politics so now I have a idea for a major (but of course that could change). So I was already fond of the book since I thought Zora was the embodiment of who I wanted to be. After reading the entire book I'm not so sure I would want her whole life but she gained some noteworthy experiences and while the route to her somewhat happy ending was rough, it wasn't depressing or anything. I wasn't enamored with the writing style, it didn't make me wince by being overly dramatic/too flowery but it didn't wow me with its beauty either. I was surprised at how long it took for the Brad&Zora storyline to take off and I didn't see it as a cliche since it's the first book I've ever read with a nanny/husband affair. while I was surprised by Kate and her friends, Brad was less surprising because I've met many liberal white people who can still be racially insensitive (unconsciously). He had a nice quote about love "[l]ove is such a crazy thing. Sometimes you can convince yourself it's not even real, that's just this elusive concept, yet when you fall in love, it can shake your world in ways you never dreamed possible" (pg. 319). It was bizarre to me as to why Kate disapproved so much about one of the career secrets Brad kept from her. I thought it was cute and nice that he got the chance to really follow his dreams.

I'm fairly naive when it comes to issues concerning working mothers and race relations and how competitive moms get over their kids. My mouth dropped open several times when conversations between Kate and Fiona (one of her white friends) were shared because they were so...not outrageously racist but very subtly prejudiced. I couldn't believe educated, so called 'modern' women still talked in a particular way. BUT I don't think the older generation would be that surprised. I also didn't realize mothers had such dilemmas about leaving their children with nannies. My mother has been working since I was born and I've never known anything else and I don't mind one bit. I felt a twang of sympathy for her if she agonized so much over her decision to leave my siblings and I with a babysitter. Working moms as a kid whose mom has always worked (still does), your kids will turn out fine and no they won't hold it against you (honestly I wouldn't like it if my mom was super-involved in my life, ugh). Anyway I digress, this book seems like an obvious bookclub pick because it addresses very accessible, universal issues. I really appreciated (and chuckled) over how often Zora bemoans how cliche her story is and she reiterates over and over that she wants to be more than just "Mammy". It sort of reminded me of all The Help controversy about Black women once again being regulated to "Mammy" roles/characterizations. To me she seemed to hint at the fact that there's nothing wrong with being nanny if you love being one and are treated with respect.

Disclosure: Bought from my closing Borders. Check out the AALit section people!

PS Fun tidbit: This story takes place in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. When I was in NYC I had lunch at an amazing Thai place in Fort Greene with Zetta Elliott, Lyn Miller Lachmann and Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich. It was a great lunch and much too short.

Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2006
Anchor Books/Random House

IQ "The rawness of Edna's grief made her helpless, brought the urge to stretch her hand in the past and reverse history. Finally, Edna fell asleep. Olanna gently placed a pillow beneath her head and sat thinking about how a single act could reverberate over time and space and leave stains that could never be washed off. She thought about how ephemeral life was about not choosing misery." pg. 306

Set during the late 1960s during a tumultuous time in Nigeria's history; a time when the southwestern region of Biafra wanted to be independent from the rest of Nigeria. Through the characters of Ugwu a thirteen-year old houseboy, Richard a young Englishman in love with Kainene a dynamic woman from a wealthy Nigerian family, Olanna the beautiful twin sister of Kainene and Odenigbo, a revolutionary university professor who is dating Olanna, the war is brought to light from various perspectives.

Now here is a book that defines the word EPIC. At first I was impatient for the war to begin, but gradually I relaxed and soaked up all the conversations. I'm always fondly jealous when in books the characters attend not just parties but also gatherings where they discuss politics openly, this is quite a common theme when I read books not set in America. I don't think you can do that in the United States nowadays, it can be too violate, we've lost too much civility to be able to calmly discuss international affairs and domestic politics. Half a Yellow Sun is no exception, Olanna & Odenigbo host gatherings of intellectuals who are not all like minded but they are polite and their discussions range from politics to literature to religion but always come back to politics. These discussions create an opening for the author to showcase the various viewpoints of secondary characters who will remain relevant throughout the entirety of the novel. My favorite character was Kainene because she was so hard to read (pun intended). She was so cold towards other people and so difficult to understand but I loved her passion, her commitment to helping people throughout the world. Her ending made me very sad because I grown quite fond of her and Richard but their endings suit them and I can't always say that I feel that way after reading another book where the same end meets the characters but this book is different. Plus if you like romance this book is chockful of lovely (and harrowing) romantic tidbits.

I would be able to honestly use the word epic to describe this novel because while it is surrounded by grand, sweeping events, it is filled with small moments that if you blink you might miss the importance to the characters. For example, I might have overlooked the following quote had I not studied Nigeria in my Comparative Government & Politics class "but my point is that the only authentic identity for the African is the tribe,' Master said. 'I am Nigerian because a white man created Nigeria and gave me that identity. I am black because the white man constructed black to be as different as possible from his white. But I was Igbo before the white man came'" (pg. 25). From my class I knew that many Nigerians identify themselves by their tribe first, country second. Although some of my Nigerian friends say that is changing, their parents identify themselves first by tribe then Nigeria, but they (the younger generation) are content with simply calling themselves Nigerian. A small quote in the context of a longer discussion that I might not have picked up but it's an example of how careless the imperialistic powers were upon leaving Africa, just throwing together tribes with no thought to their warring history. Half A Yellow Sun is an epic and epic itself. The story does not take place across generations but it does span several years while managing to never lose the reader. It's epic because it completely immerses the reader in Nigerian culture as a whole but specifically in Igbo culture, it had me walking away thinking of words in Igbo (such as "biko" a term of endearment). There were also tiny bursts of feminism such as when Olanna resolutely decides after being cheated on that "[s]he would not let him make her feel that there was something wrong with her. It was her right to be upset, her right to choose not to brush her humiliation aside in the name of an overexalted intellectualism, and she would claim that right" (pg. 129). A mini review cannot do this book justice I don't think but I'll try in a sentence: Enrapturing tale with dynamic characters of various temperaments from various backgrounds, dense without being overwhelming. I loved Purple Hibiscus but I wouldn't want to re-read it, I would re-read Half A Yellow Sun.


Disclosure: As a sign that my mother does indeed love me she bought me this book (heehee)

Waiting on Wednesday: Irises

Irises by Francisco X. Stork

Release Date: January 1, 2012

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. -- if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate's boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it's Mama's life that might divide them for good -- the question of *if* she lives, and what's worth living for.

-It's Francisco Stork! Hands down he' s one of my favorite authors so I'd read this even if it didn't sound like another phenomenal, provocative read. Fortunately it sounds extremely promising.

This meme was created and is hosted by Breaking the Spine

What are you waiting on this week? Are you a fan of Francisco Stork? If so which book of his is your favorite??

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu 2011 (ARC)
Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins

Rating: 4.5/5

IQ "She was so busy thinking about the one she needed to rescue she didn't think at all about the one she was leaving behind." Hazel pg. 249

Once upon a time Hazel and Jack were best friends. They live in Minneapolis and while Hazel hates her fifth grade class she is able to bear it because Jack is in the classroom next door. But then Jack abruptly stops talking to her and disappears into a forest with a mystery Snow Queen. Hazel knows Jack has a rough life at home but how could he just live her like that? Hazel decides to go after hm, she assumes she will be prepared from all her readings of fairy tales. She soon realizes that fairy tales are not as beautiful and simple as they seem and that the Woods can really change a person, even when you want to stay the same. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."

There is just no way Hazel is a fifth grader. I don't doubt that she read fairytales, The Wizard of Oz, Narnia books, Harry Potter, etc. but I do have very strong doubts that she would have been able to articulate her thoughts so well. She analyzes literature and people's motives in a way that I'm fairly certain most fifth graders do not do. There are several loose ends in this book. I don't mind most of the loose ends in this book because I enjoyed tying them up but I did want to know the meaning behind the wolves. I am not very familiar with fairytales (most of the ones I know are from TV and those of course are not always accurate) so I'm sure I missed many subtle references, but I did grasp tidbits from other beloved children's books that the author weaves into the story. I really liked how the author made a nod to both classic children's books and more modern children's stories. It is interesting how the author places an emphasis on remembering the people and places we leave behind as we go off on adventures and begin growing up. I chose the Incredible Quote because in most quest-novels the hero rarely considers who they are leaving behind, they may consider WHAT but not the loved ones who have to pick up the pieces and that little sentence captures one aspect of the uniqueness of this book.

I was most surprised by how melancholy the story was but that's not a bad thing, but it is something that should be noted. Growing up is rough but especially for Hazel who is one of the most creative children I've ever read about and who has no interest in becoming friends with children who aren't avid readers and 100% as imaginative as she is. In fact Hazel is far from the perfect protagonist. She doesn't want to take responsibility for her actions and her dependence on fantasy colors her view of reality in some detrimental ways, but it also helps her get through some tough situations as she searches for Jack. At one point Hazel's annoyance with facts is clearly shown "Nobody could accept that she did not want to hear about gaseous balls and layers of atmosphere and refracted light and tiny building blocks of life. The truth of things was always much more mundane than what she could imagine, and she did not understand why people always wanted to replace the marvelous things in her head with this miserable heap of you're-a-fifth-grader-now facts" (pg. 3), when Hazel suppresses her creativity and starts to simply go through the motions of attending school my heart actually broke. This book is depressing because both Hazel and Jack come from unhappy homes, Hazel is adopted from India and that feeds into her isolation at school (being the only Indian girl) but her adopted parents recently divorced and her father has had little contact with her. Jack's mother is mentally ill and his father is also mostly absent. Neither Hazel nor Jack fully understand the problems at home, nor do they want to and so they create fantasy worlds together and go on grand adventures. Until Jack starts hanging out more with other boys his age, he wants to be friends with Hazel too but not spend as much time with her. Hazel and Jack's new friends both feel that he has to make a choice. When Jack decides to leave (after something very mysterious and magical and utterly random occurs) the book successfully keeps readers guessing about the world he (And later Hazel) disappear into. Is it an alternate world? Or is it all in Hazel's imagination? I loved that the author kept me guessing.

The author's writing in Breadcrumbs is absolutely mesmerizing, the very definition of enchanting as she describes the new world Hazel and Jack enter, the eccentric people they meet, the harsh reality of growing up. She fully explores her characters and the scenes she creates, one of the most chilling scenes I thought was the one involving the parents and the flowers. I shudder even thinking about it. I don't think the author tries to gently submerse her readers in the strange new world and she surprised me at how bluntly she shows (I think) that you do need to grow up. Hazel can of course continue to be full of imagination but she also needs to be more open to learning about the world she actually lives in. Hazel's resilience is astonishing and while intellectually she didn't seem to be a fifth grader, her spirit fit her age. Hazel is determined, lively and while she isn't prone to giving up, the thought does cross her mind a few times. Also she goes after Jack based on a somewhat selfish motive. Jack is the only thing that anchors her to the real world and without him she feels lost, she needs him, she needs him to be strong at home both for himself and for her. There were many things I liked about this book but I especially like that the author expects A LOT of her readers. And I think readers will meet her expectations, the story is not very happy or even fun, there are underlying literary references and there are some ice-truths that young readers will either first uncover through reading this book or have already begun to recognize and realize in their own lives.

Disclosure: Received from author for review. Thank you so much!!

PS I am very sad however that since I had an ARC copy the drawings were not all in the book yet. I will have to find a hardcover copy!

PPSS I've decided to donate this book (along with some others) to my local food pantry's 'bookstore' (it's free like a library but the kids/adults keep the books) because this is a story that begs to be passed on.

In Honor of C. O. L. O.R./Better World Books Giveaway!

(logo from betterworldbooks.com)

I kept saying I would have a giveaway in honor of having 400 followers and then I said I would have one to thank C. O. L. O. R. supporters, well now Better World Books gave me the push I need to FINALLY have this giveaway. It's 50% off certain used books USE THIS LIST otherwise you don't 'win'. They want October to be their biggest donation month yet and I intend on helping in my own small way. I LOVE Better World Books because not only do they donate one book for every book bought but they also recycle and for a small additional fee they can ship your book to you using fewer carbon emissions. Plus the books are fairly affordable! I love that they are a for-profit company that gives back to the community, you would think every business would do that....

There will be three winners, 2 who donated books to C. O. L. O. R. #1 or #2) and one winner without any stipulations. Open to EVERYONE (shipping is free worldwide but even if it wasn't I feel awful about neglecting the blog so much so I would have made it an international giveaway. ALTHOUGH I have two reviews going up this week, whoa).

Ends Oct. 19 12 AM CT

ENTER HERE (FILL OUT THE FORM)

If for some reason the form doesn't work please leave your name, email and the 3 books you want from BWB's Used section.

Elated Over Eleven: Sheela Chari

Oh hello blog! I was beginning to forget what book blogging even meant. Anyway I'm bringing back my Elated Over Eleven feature! In case you've forgotten you can read my previous Elated Over Eleven features here

Today I've finally pulled my act together to present an interview with Sheela Chari, whose Middle Grade book Vanished debuted in August! I recently received a copy for review and I'm eager to dive into its mystery-laden pages :)

Thank you for stopping by Reading in Color Ms. Chari!

What is Vanished about?

Vanished is a mystery novel about eleven-year-old Neela’s quest to find her Indian musical instrument when it goes missing. But it’s also her quest to overcome her stage fright and find her true musical self.

Yes you read that right this is a middle grade mystery with an Indian girl as a main character. But it's not about her being Indian in America, rather it's about her musical talent and her search for her missing instrument. Ahhhh

What has your road to being published taught you?

The road to publication is winding, with lots of potholes along the way. I expected that, because that’s what I’d been told by the writers I know who traveled that road before me. So I was prepared to wait, to persevere, and to expect setbacks along the way. And even if I was prepared, it was still an education, and I think I’m more patient and more focused than I was when I first started writing seriously.

But the other thing that this long and difficult journey has taught me is that there are unexpected pleasures along the way – a sudden dip in the road where you don’t have to peddle so hard and you can cruise on a piece of extraordinary luck: a beautiful cover, a rave review, a chance to talk to before a sprawling audience of young readers (when you were told that maybe one or two would show up at the bookstore for your event). Every time something wonderful happens to Vanished or to me as an author, I have learned to enjoy it for what it is – an unexpected, fun gift in my life as a writer.

And that is what scares me about writing. Who wants to become more patient? In all seriousness though I love that people are able to find the positives on the scary journey to get published. But also like Ms. Chari said, I think if I ever decided to write a book I would be slightly mentally prepared thanks to my reading of interviews with other authors and learning about what the publishing process really entails and how long it takes. And there are some amazing moments on that journey such as being blessed with a gorgeous cover like Ms. Chari's! And knowing that at least one reader connected with your story, I imagine that could keep me on a happiness cloud for quite some time...

What do you think the hardest part about writing a MG mystery is/was?

Writing mysteries in general is hard – at least for me. Partly because I think seasoned mystery writers start with the end and go backwards. In other words, they know who’s done what and when in their story, and then go back to the beginning to “cover up their tracks.” I did the opposite. I started at the very beginning with the same question as Neela – why did the veena disappear? And honestly, I didn’t know! I had to follow Neela and discover the reason why. As I kept writing, the story finally emerged by the time I got to the end. But it did require me going back and retrofitting content after I knew what the ending was. This seems needlessly difficult, but I guess that’s just the way I work!

As for MG, I’m not sure that played nearly as much as a role. I’m comfortable writing middle grade. This is because I’m secretly twelve years old. Okay…well, I would be if I had a choice!

What book would your book date?

Vanished might date Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett or Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach. I loved both of these books for their atmosphere, for their kid detectives, and the way art and literature play a central role in the mystery (like Vanished, where music is integral).

But Vanished might also be secretly crushing on The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. What a fantastic, smart mystery novel! But it’s also young adult, and a little too old for young Vanished! ;)

Haha I love that, we must protect the innocence of Vanished! It's vital that one doesn't grow up too fast...I adored Chasing Vermeer, so clever and as a bonus it was set in my beloved Chicago. Which reminds me that I could review that book here. Hmm maybe Vanished review one day, Chasing Vermeer review the next?

You grew up in Iowa City in the 1970s. Did you read books about kids of color? If not, did that bother you? Did you ever feel alienated and did this play into your writing?

I can honestly say I never thought about color when I was reading books as a child. I read because I wanted to know what happened next. I devoured all the Beverly Cleary books, the Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, Heidi, Island of the Blue Dolphin, A Wrinkle in Time, The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, and I loved Nancy Drew. I loved these books for their sense of adventure, for bringing me to worlds I didn’t know about. I loved stories about tomboys and detectives, about girls who had traveled far away from their homes to find themselves, often under difficult conditions. Race never entered the picture. Likewise, I never saw myself being different, even though when I was a child, I was the only Indian-American girl I knew in my whole grade.

Certainly I think about these issues now, maybe because I have children of my own. I wrote Vanished because I really wanted to see more books about Indian-American girls solving mysteries and having adventures just like their other peers. I might not have read and wondered about these types of books when I was little, but if Vanished had been available back then, it would DEFINITELY have changed my life and the way I saw myself. There are many Indian-American girls who have read my book now and have really enjoyed and responded to it. I don’t know if all Indian-Americans want to read about characters like themselves (some still want to read about vampires!), but it’s really important to me that the option is there. I hope to see more and more mystery and fantasy books featuring PoCs being added to the middle grade shelf!

I read those same books as a kid! Children's classics never cease to amaze me because we all read so many of the same book and yet the power of books for kids is often ignored. Although I do remember starting and not liking, Island of the Blue Dolphin haha. We are the richer for reading those books (or so I like to think anyway) but I agree my mind would have been blown if I could have read a book about a character who looked me and was having a cool adventure. It's like you never know what you could have had until much later...(if that makes sense)

What are some of your current favorite YA/MG reads? What fellow '11 debuts are you looking forward to in the fall? Have you read any great 2011 debuts already?

This might be the hardest question to answer. I’m a member of the Elevensies, so I’ve been anticipating and reading a long list of books over the past year. Since I’m an MG author, my favorites have been the middle grades I read this year like Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis, With a Name like Love by Tess Hilmo, and May B. by Caroline Starr Rose. All outstanding, with spunky female characters that know how to make their own decisions.

I also read many YA’s, and one of my favorites this year was Dead Rules by Randy Russell, which takes ideas of the afterlife and turns them into something new and thought-provoking. But I think I need to answer this question again when I get through my whole TBR pile!

What two PoC characters would you love to hang out?

I’m reading Grace Lin’s Pacy Lin books right now: The Year of the Dog, The Year of the Rat, and her most recent Dumpling Days, which I’m reading in ARC form as it won’t be out until January. I love Pacy’s directness, the way she invites you into her daily life, to be part of her Taiwanese heritage without a lot of explanation and back-story. Also some of her struggles to fit in remind me a lot of when I was growing up in the 1980s.

I’d have to say my favorite character growing up was Sacajawea. I read a book with the same title (Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo) when I was twelve, and her life history left a huge impression on me. It might have been that I just moved to Washington State at the time, where she had lived. But I loved this book, and I loved reading about her fierce pride, her incredible intelligence and astuteness, her knowledge of the land, and how she maintained her heritage in spite of being the first Shoshone woman to lead Lewis and Clark across the Columbia River to the Pacific Coast (something unheard of at the time in her culture).

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Web site: www.sheelachari.com
Blog: http://sheela-chari.livejournal.com
Twitter: @wordsbysheela

Thanks for having me on your blog, Ari!

Not a problem, thanks again for stopping by Sheela! Buy Vanished

Waiting on Wednesday: The Probability of Miracles

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Release Date: December 8, 2011

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

This meme is hosted by Breaking the Spine (sidenote: I recently learned what meme means but I forgot. But I remember thinking it made sense with the context I read it used in on blogs). I'm not really waiting on this book because I have too many books to read as it is. But I did want to spotlight it since the main character is half-Samoan. I can't even accurately pinpoint Samoa on a map so that fact alone intrigues me about the book. And while some say it's a stereotype to be sarcastic and very sick, I haven't read many of those books so I'm always on the watch for books with sarcastic main characters who refuse pity.

What are you waiting on this week? Starting next week I will no longer have any 2011 releases to feature unless people have some suggestions?

Literacy Orgs I Love: Book Wish Foundation

I am a book lover, therefore I must be a passionate advocate for literacy for all. My current literary obsession is books about people doing amazing things for other people, basic human kindness. These books have given me tips on things I can do to help others besides donating money and I think one of the ways that I could possibly make a small impact is by highlighting literacy non-profits. I found some that I had never heard of before so maybe you will discover a new one that you want to donate your time/money to, but regardless all of these organizations are dedicated to spreading the love of books and education to all and who wouldn't support that? This will be a monthly post

1st up

Book Wish Foundation!

Image and excerpt from summary taken from bookwish.org/about

Book Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity providing high-impact reading aid for people in crisis, with a current focus on refugees from Darfur and AIDS orphans in Ghana. We give some of the world's neediest readers the books they wish for, taking requests for specific titles and subjects. This helps ensure the books will be matched to the needs of the readers, and appropriate for their reading level and culture. We typically do not accept generic book donations from the public because they do not match the requests we receive. We do not hold book drives. The books that are most useful in a refugee camp might not be best-sellers in New York.

The populations we aid have very limited resources and are facing immense challenges for the foreseeable future. For them, books can play an especially large role in education, mental health, and job training. We search for the readers who will get the most out of our books because they have so little to begin with.

Maximizing the impact of books also means maximizing the number of readers, so we will provide reading glasses, vision screenings, support for literacy programs, solar-rechargeable lighting where there is no electricity, or any other aid that can effectively increase the audience for our books

I first discovered Book Wish Foundation when I was perusing the Penguin Fall 2011 releases newsletter. Actually the name of the organization didn't really register but I loved the idea behind the book that BookWish was working with Penguin and Better World Books. That book is What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur by various authors including Sofia Quintero, Nikki Giovanni, Francisco Stork, John Green, Ann Martin and Alexander McCall Smith.

Proceeds from the book go to building libraries in refugee camps for those from Darfur set in Chad. I pre-ordered the book from Better World Books so that 100% of the proceeds would go to the UN Refugee Agency. The book is now out but that doesn't many sales from the book won't go towards the building of libraries for Darfur refugees. I'm not sure how much of the proceeds though. It is advertised as YA but the stories seem to be a bit young. I'm not finished yet so they may get more mature, regardless they are lovely stories, not too dark but not pure sugar-coated happiness either.

Finally be sure you check out Book Wish Foundation's list of action tips you can do in 1 minute (and no donating is not the only tip on the list)!