Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children by John Wood 2006
Collins/HarperCollins

IQ "My favorite creative idea came from Parkgate, a Montessori primary school in London. Catherine, the energetic founder and headmistress of the school, called to say that her students had invented a new fund0raising technique. They offered their parents the opportunity to pay for what they called the Sponsored Silence. For 10 [I believe pounds] per hour, the parents could basically hit the Mute button on their children for the evening. Sales of this new luxury item were quite robust. [...]Children can be natural fundraisers, and very entrepreneurial, if given the freedom to think creatively." pg. 224

I found that quote especially appealing because I 100% agree, kids never cease to amaze me with their cruelty but then they outdo themselves with kindness, finding ingenious ways to raise money for a variety of causes. And I love the idea the children in London came up with. It got me thinking that something similar could be done in schools where students are particularly rowdy and they could raise money for those "with no voice" such as those incarcerated, victims of sexual and physical abuse, etc.

John Wood is the founder of RoomtoRead, an organization I was unfamiliar with until the fabulous Sarah Rettger recommended Wood's book to me. I'm so glad she did, it was fantastic! Room to Rea's goal is to promote literacy and provide an education to every child, no big deal. Currently they are based in Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, Laos, Bangladesh, South Africa and Zambia. John Wood originally worked for Microsoft as a marketing director but after a hiking trip to Nepal where the illiteracy rate is 70% he was inspired to send books for a library. The Nepalese people were skeptical he would return but he did, bringing "thousands of books bundled on the back of a yak", shortly afterward he decided to start his yet-unnamed non profit organization to build libraries, schools and distribute books. This is his story and the story of the origins of Room to Read.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this story is the business model of Room to Read, even though Room to Read is a nonprofit. The author talks about how they relay on donations of all kinds, not simply the ones from billionaires. They insist the community they build the school/library in must take part in the building of the school/library, this way the community feels a deeper connection to it. I think that's a really great point that I have never heard mentioned by other non-profits. If people don't feel a sense of ownership they won't care, but give them some responsibility and people will create the best product they can. Classic business model, no? They also ensure that they have local staff and partner with local businesses/governments. I think more and more non profits are realizing that they need to consult with the actual people who live in the country they are trying to "reform/improve." It's very refreshing and reassuring. I loved reading John Wood's explanation as to why Room to Read tries to fund raise from more than large donors "there simply are not enough billionaires out there to solve all of the world's problems. True change requires mass participation, because one person writing a large check is never enough. He could change his mind about the cause, or make bad investment decisions that deplete his capital, or die and leave his money to his heirs rather than to charity. To rely on just one person is quite risky, especially when the future of millions of people is at stake. The larger problem is that too many of the truly rich are loath to give away their fortune in any meaningful way. [...he then goes on to say...] The Andrew Carnegie of the 21st century will not be a rich white male. It will be a network of concerned global citizens, and we will create it" (pgs. 151-152), he's ambitious, determined, and optimistic. In short, everything I would expect a business person to be (obviously intelligent as well) with the rarity of being truly about service.

The added bonus of this inspirational and productive story is the behind-the-scenes look at Microsoft. He doesn't spend a lot of time talking about Bill & Melinda Gates but he does mention a time when he met Bill Gates. It's not the most flattering portrait but the author makes apologizes for why Gates might have acted the way he did. What I found even more interesting was the author describing his interview with Melinda French Gates, who was Bill Gates' girlfriend at the time. The position he was interviewing for would be under her supervision and while it was brief mention, it gave a tiny peek at Microsoft in the earlier days. Something that wasn't mentioned but that I'm curious about, is if the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports Room to Read? Furthermore the author is very pragmatic but also very fair. Perhaps I found him to be very fair because I can be very harsh and critical of people who I feel have been given much but do very little (which I am working on), regardless it's a wonderful quality to have. He discuses telling his girlfriend Sophie about his trip to Nepal and how amazing it was to deliver the books and his idea to do something similar but she isn't interested. "I reminded myself that despite her international postings, her strong preference was for the glamour of the expatriate life in a big city like London, Prague, or Paris. Large paychecks, housecleaners, and a full-time driver on call could make any city feel even better than home. My desire to strap on backpacks and 'go walk about' in the developing world held no appeal to her. We were both 'international', but in very different ways. This does not make either of us a better or worse person than the other" (pg. 43), I want the best of both worlds but I'm slowly realizing that it's not possible but that's Ok. I would rather "go walk about".

Room to Read was founded in 2000 and what makes this literacy organization really stand out is that it's run like a business, but the businesspeople actually have compassion. Room to Read is trying to sell you the importance of gender equality and raising literacy around the world, they have a business plan. Please consider donating to them, I know I will be (I will donate to them before I specifically profile the organization this weekend). John Wood seized the moment and created a dynamic non profit and this gives him a super-hero quality. He has human qualities though, he has doubts sometimes. Wood discusses his wish to own a home, to stay in a long-term relationship, to have more money to devote to a few small luxuries but at the end of the day he loves what he does. If only we all could be so lucky. I wish I could work for Room to Read but I'm not so sure I'd make it past the first round, it's a very competitive interviewing process! Which is as it should be, we need the best and the brightest working with nonprofits to change the world. Fortunately we have Room to Read and John Wood.

Disclosure: From the library. I wish I had bought it though since proceeds go to Room to Read. I may still buy a copy because it's definitely a book needed for my shelf

Off Color: Guardian of the Dead

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey 2010
Little, Brown and Company

Rating: 4/5

IQ "It's the shape of the story that matters, the way belief forms around it. The story has real weight." Mark pg. 173


Ellie Spencer attends Mansfield College, a boarding school in Christchurch, New Zealand. At seventeen years old she does things lot of other teenagers, do some smart activities and some not-so smart activities. Everything is grinding along for Ellie when a mysterious and beautiful woman becomes fascinated with Ellie's best friend, Kevin. The woman's fascination borders on disturbing and there's something off about her. Ellie also has a new fascination, Mark, who finally begins to notice her but it's almost as if he's enchanted her. Ellie quickly learns that she should trust her gut as she is thrust into a world of Maori mythology and fairies. There's also a serial killer on the loose known as the "Eyeslasher". Killers, fairies and lots and lots of magic will lead Ellie on a roller coaster ride over the course of a few days.

Some of the scenes jumbled together in this book. I found myself having to go back and re-read to put the events in order because for some reason in my mind they weren't clear. I think I was most disappointed in the lack of Kevin time. Not only because Kevin had Maori heritage and I wanted to read about that but also he's a genuinely interesting character. He vanishes for much of the novel and while I understand why that disappearance occurred, I wish he could have been worked in better. I also didn't like the storyline of Ellie's sister. It adds a diverse aspect to the story but other than that it was pointless. I had hoped that we would at least 'meet' Magda or hear from her but Ellie mentions her briefly every now and then and proceeds to move on. I found it hard to focus on this book too, perhaps because it moved too slow or maybe because I got too hung up on understanding the mythology/various cultures of New Zealand? I'm not entirely sure but that's entirely on me. When I closed the book I honestly did not understand why the battle for immortality occurred the way it did. There seemed to be too many supernatural elements thrown together within a few chapters, it felt rushed. I'm still not entirely sure how the Eyeslasher murders and the paranormal creatures were related....well I think I understand it but it seemed to be an unnecessary stretch.

It is hard to keep the Maori mythology straight but I didn't care, I just wanted to learn more, more, more! While the mythology seemed to be introduced at random times and could be jarring, it was fascinating to see its modern day connections. I was very pleased at how the ending of the book showed how what had occurred in the supernatural world still affected the real world. There are some devastating repercussions that made me very sad but I didn't mind the realistic aspect, I appreciated it. Adding to the overall realistic theme of the novel is Ellie. She constantly refers to herself as big although I'm not sure if she's overweight or not (I would imagine not since she takes tae kwon do). Since Ellie is trained in tae kwon do (black belt) she's able to defend herself physically which is a lot of fun to read about because some of the info shown could prove useful in real life to the reader. I also grew enamored with the ending for not being too open or firmly shut and Ellie does not put her future education on hold. She talks about classes during the book and she plans on going to University, in fact she agonizes over what she wants to study BECAUSE WHAT SHE LOVES WON'T PAY MUCH. Boy oh boy could I relate to that anxiety. It's also quite funny to read about Ellie's Classics professor, Gribaldi, who is always complaining that her students in New Zealand don't work as hard as AP American students. I'm sure that's not true but it must be nice not being exhausted every waking minute because of school. As Ellie says "I couldn't see the appeal of working yourself ragged and doing ten thousand extra-curriculars. So New Zealand only had seven universities, and most entrance courses required entrants to meet a bare minimum of standards. So what?" (pg. 49), sentences like that would did seem didactic at times. However, I didn't mind because I love comparing and contrasting how teens live in different countries. And like Ellie I don't see the appeal either but that attitude has/will hurt me.

I was enamored with Guardian of the Dead due its close-to-perfect ending along with its authentic characters struggling with teen insecurities, diverse cast and informal view of life in New Zealand specifically life at a prestigious New Zealand boarding school and in Christchurch. At times the author seemed to be pointedly discussing the diversity of her characters, when describing Samia it came across more subtly that she was Muslim, but for other characters Ellie would flat-out describe them as Asian or Desi. I'm not sure which I would prefer but it was something small that I found interesting. I do wish the book's ending had been less jumbled and that more characters became 3D. Ellie, Mark and Iris are the three teens I would say become fully fleshed out but there are so many other characters worth exploring (Kevin)! Ellie is fairly logical but not more so than the average teen except for the fact that she knows self-defense. She seems to think the most inappropriate thoughts at crucial moments but they made me pause because they were good points. When a particular character dies she observes "in the movies, you could close the eyelids of a dead man by passing one hand over his face. I had to pinch the skin of his right eyelid and tug, and even then it wouldn't close all the way over the emptied eye socket" (pg. 289), a gross image but who would have ever considered the logistics of that particular scenario? I found Ellie's down-to-earth, insecure, self-deprecating, somewhat quirky (but not obnoxiously so) personality to be refreshing.

Disclosure: Received from publisher. Thank you so much L&B Company!

*Note: I had originally planned on reading this the 2011 Global Reading Challenge. While it technically counts for the challenge since it's set in New Zealand, it does not count for my personal guidelines since the main character is not a person of color and her best friend who is does not play as much of a role in the story. But I think the author's next book does have a main character of color so I added it to the list!

PS Just a fyi: one of the characters is asexual. I've never read a book that even mentions being asexual so I was really happy to see it mentioned because I know nothing about that sexual orientation.

Throwback Thursday: Wuthering High (off color)

Wuthering High by Cara Lockwood 2006
MTV Books/ Simon & Schuster

Rating: 3/5

IQ "Some crazy people would say that forests and mountains are beautiful, but to me the outdoors are just plain creepy. I see forests and I think of maniacs wielding chainsaws. You never hear of psychotic, crazed killers in movies striking at the mall. No. The freaky killers who turn their victims into wax do it way out of in the country somewhere far away from Banana Republic." Miranda pg. 20

Fifteen year old Miranda Tate is slightly spoiled so you can imagine her horror when after crashing her father's car (and maxing out her stepmother's credit cards) she is sent to Bard Academy, a school in the middle of nothing where no contact is allowed with the outside world. Its a school for 'juvenile delinquents' (or so they are deemed by their parents). No phone calls, no Internet, a uniform must be worn at all times, there's a strict curfew and woods nearby that are just plain creepy. Of course what would a boarding school be if it wasn't haunted? Miranda can't sleep due to terrifying nightmares, fires are randomly being set, strange maniac laughter fills the air and there's something not right about the faculty at Bard. It just so happens that the members of the faculty at Bard are ghosts (many of them famous writers) stuck in limbo. That's not the only secret the faculty is keeping, there's something special about Miranda and why is it so crucial that nothing happen to a worn page torn from Wuthering Heights? Who is setting the fires? Furthermore, is Heathcliff really a student at Bard or is he the ACTUAL Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights?

I like knowing the motives of why an author does what he or she does and this book puzzled me a bit because I thought the assignments of the famous writers turned teachers was random. It could have at least been explained a bit better for those of us not familiar with all the authors. Coach H (Hemingway) as a gym teacher makes sense, I didn't understand why Charlotte Bronte was Headmistress B, perhaps because she was a governess? However, I didn't know Charlotte Bronte was a governess until I looked it up. And why was Virginia Woolf a dorm mother? I'm just curious as to how the author figured out who should do what at Bard academy. I was also disappointed in the misleading of the back cover which claimed "the students' lives also start to mirror the classics they're reading-tragic novels like Dracula, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre" but Miranda and her friends are RARELY in class. Bard Academy has a tough curriculum but Miranda only mentions classes to complain a bit but she doesn't mention studying/analyzing the classics. I wish there had been more discussion of the classics. I don't like Ryan either, I know he's supposed to be dreamy and actually really sweet but I just don't like him. Heathcliff all the way!

I decided to review this book because of Samir. I love Samir, the new friend of Miranda. He was sent to Bard because his traditional Indian parents had arranged a marriage for him when he turned nineteen but he refused to comply. Samir is not exactly a ladies' man but as is usually the case, he's quite funny and determined to find a girl for him. One of my favorite bits of dialogue

"'Will you marry me?' he asks me
'Uh....' I glance at Hana
'He asks every girl he meets,' Hanna explains. 'Don't worry about it.'" (pg. 58) Blade, Miranda's roommate remains a caricature and Hana doesn't have much of a personality yet but at least one secondary character (Samir) does. I really like Miranda too. I started out not liking her because she was (still is actually) spoiled and a bit whiny but I probably whine too so I can relate. Plus she's funny because she has this realistic/self-deprecating sense of humor such as "Heathcliff contains my squirming easily, carrying me as if I weigh nothing, which I know is not true at all despite the Bard Academy cafeteria diet" (pg. 208). Miranda is a strong main character but I really like her because she's not too extreme. Not extremely trendy, shy, pretty, mean, etc. She's average, like many other high school girls (including myself) that I know. Sometimes she feels beautiful, other times she thinks she's 'hideous'. How refreshing and realistic.

Wuthering High's strengths lie in its premise being quite novel and having some dominant, interesting characters in Miranda, Samir and Heathcliff. The ending left me with more questions than answers which normally bothers me to no end but I would have been sad to just leave these characters behind, I want to know more about Bard Academy, its students and faculty. One mystery is neatly closed but there are several others left open. At least I know that there are currently two other books out in this series and the author is working on a fourth (final) book. Since the book places such emphasis on the literary classics I want more time to be spent discussing the classics and the people who wrote them. I would also like to see Hana be more than just a sidekick and Blade be more than the creepy roommate. I MUST know more about Heathcliff. And I need Samir to date someone and find happiness :)

Disclosure: From the biblioteca

Off Color: The Iron Witch

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney 2011
Corgi Books/Random House Children's Books

Rating: 4.5/5

IQ "Sometimes the longer you left something without telling people, the harder it got to open your mouth and start filing them in on what they'd missed." Donna pg. 181

Donna Underwood is the daughter of two very powerful alchemists. She is also a freak, because she wears gloves all the time but has super strength, displayed in a moment at school that she regrets. She has iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms, they are beautifully bizarre so she covers them with gloves. Donna hides everything about her life with the alchemists, not even her best friend Navin Sharma knows about her tattoos (not to mention how she got them). But Donna isn't going to be able to hide all her secrets much longer, not when the mysterious (and handsome) Alexander (Xan) Grayson keeps popping into her life and he seems to understand her, even though she barely knows him. She can't keep hiding secrets from Navin either especially when the dark exiles of Faerie are beginning to appear and they want something that Donna isn't even sure exists and they won't hesitate to hurt her loved ones to get what they want.

I think what was lacking for me the most in this book was character development in the secondary characters. Navin has personality, funny, caring, loyal, vulnerable. He knows Donna has secrets but he doesn't push. Navin is a character that everyone will root for and I really liked his relationship with Donna. It's nice to have a guy who is the best friend, like a brother, not a romantic interest. Donna and Alexander Grayson on the other hand, didn't really leap off the page. The only thing Xan has going for him is that he's mysterious and nice, willing to help Donna even though he barely knows her. I'm looking forward to learning more about him and I like that he encourages Donna to be more positive and confident in herself, but I have ambivalent feelings about him. I like Donna, at times she is a typical teen, feeling down, prone to self pity, scared of the elves. She's someone I could relate to because of the feelings and at the same time I admired her loyalty to Navin and her bravery. She's usually scared but she thinks quick on her feet and she does what she has to do to protect her loved ones. I wanted her to succeed but that was about it. The secondary characters were rather bland, Aunt Paige, Maker, Quentin and Simon never really materialized as characters, I only grasped bits of their personality through Donna and Navin talking about them, I would have liked to have learned more about the secondary characters through their actions and interactions with Donna.

Before I get to the more obvious favorite parts of the book (the alchemy!), I loved the very subtle bits in the book that showed diversity and the fact that yes this book is set in the 21st century. Donna's best friend Navin is a major character who happens to be Indian American, he's a universal character, his heritage does not define him. Quentin is head of the Order of the Dragon of which Donna's parents are members. He also happens to be gay. The author never explicitly states that but Donna mentions Quentin's partner Simon, who lives with Quentin. Of course the alchemy knowledge is fantastic. It's never dumped all over the reader, instead pieces of alchemy history and terms appear through dialogue, Donna knows very little about the Order, the adults keep everything a secret. Thus the reader is able to learn with Donna without it growing tiresome or becoming an infodump session. The book has clearly been well researched and it is also clear that the author tried to find creative ways of sharing the information and creating her own twists on the subject. In addition there are fun bits about Faerie and I found it very interesting to read about dark elves. I don't read much paranormal so my only contact with elves are the Santa Claus kind. So I had a great deal of fun reading about dark wood elves.

The Iron Witch is a fast-moving story with a genuine teenage main character, not unrealistically heroic, but not utterly selfish. Donna is independent and I love that she and Xan equally save each other. I love that she has a mostly normal relationship with her best friend Navin and that she worries constantly about telling him her secrets versus not telling him. The author didn't have to make this story diverse. She could have easily made all the couples straight, not mentioned Donna's fashion (it may seem random to mention but I liked that Donna wasn't outlandishly quirky or a dull conservative dresser. Her gloves are described in detail and I found it intriguing/sad that she took such care in choosing pretty gloves to cover scars she considers ugly) and made all the characters white (or not mentioned the race) but the fact that a conscious effort was made to reflect the real world is something I highly applaud. The premise of the book is highly unique, faeries (ok I admit I don't know the difference between fairies, faeries and fey but I'll learn) combined with alchemists (c'mon how much fun is it to read about the elixir of life?) set in the 21st century. Authentic main characters, quick and intriguing plot, all that's needed is more development with Xan and the secondary characters. I am eager to see where this story goes next and while this could be a stand-alone novel, there's plenty of extra material available to use and I feel as though it's cliffhanger-ish.

Disclosure: Received for review from the author, thank you :D And yes we are friends

PS And ok the UK version of this book is MARVELOUS. Gold trim on the pages, gold curlicues on the cover, a delicate vial (I was pleasantly surprised that its description in the book matches what's on the cover) and the lovely iron tattoos. I'm not sure how the cover of the sequel will be able to match this one, but I look forward to seeing it revealed :)

Male Monday: Deadline (Off Color)

Deadline by Chris Crutcher 2007
Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins

Rating: 3/5

IQ "from my point of view, there is simply nothing like her. I know other kids feel the same way about people they're with, which is what makes life on earth interesting. I want to be here longer. I am aware that this might very well be the crowning glory of my life, as I am aware that I am very old if you count back from my end, rather than up from my birth. I think I am in love, and the idea of losing that love fills me with such deep longing I think I might disappear through the gym floor." Ben pg. 117

Ben Wolf has been diagnosed with a blood disease and given one year to live. He wants to make an impact on the world but that's awfully hard to do in small-town Trout, Idaho. He's a senior and he decides that he's not going to die without leaving his mark, at least on Trout. He's determined to learn as much as he can his senior year, challenge his teachers and even though he's the shortest, skinniest kid, he's fast so he's going out for football. He's also had his eye on the beautiful, 5 ft. 11 Dallas Suzuki and if he could just work up the courage to ask her....Ben has decided not to receive treatment for his disease, and he's keeping his diagnosis a secret which turns out to be much harder than he expected.

I think the difficulty in writing a book about a teen whose dying is in not sounding too preachy, too...rushed I suppose. Rushed as in 'hurry-this-teen-is-going-to-die-but-first-they-must-share-an-earth shattering-revelation-about-Carpe-Diem.' If that makes sense. Basically I feel like all these books are about teens realizing that they must live each day like it's their last, but this is the first book I've read where the main character is dying so I really can't say. It just seems to me that when writing that kind of book, the author wants to make sure he or she leaves big nuggets of wisdom about living your life to the fullest, appreciating family, etc. In Deadline I thought the author could have done a better job weaving in these tidbits of life advice in a more subtle, authentic (for teenagers) manner. Instead the author creates Hey-Soos who basically spouts vague bits of wisdom that are supposed to get Ben thinking and to draw his own conclusions. Ben's insights are revealing, but it feels too much like an easy way of throwing in lots of Important Lessons via dialogue. I would have rather seen these discussions been between Ben and a friend or family member. I also thought the whole Malcolm X thing was a bit overdone, I felt that I got beaten over the head about how complicated a man he was, but I have to remember there are people who completely hate Malcolm X or have never even heard of him.

All that being said, I appreciated reading about Ben's exploits as he tried to seize the day and I loved the ending. It seems wrong to say I loved it, but I liked that the author doesn't pull any tricks or throw in any twists. It wouldn't be a Chris Crutcher book if the main character wasn't a pain in the butt to narrow-minded teachers so of course Ben is focused on 'fighting the Man' (or the power or the system, whatever you want to call it). I really admired Ben for not seeking treatment and the fact that he remained so strong when death was so close. I would (am) be terrified out of my mind but I think if my family situation was like, I would have tried to keep it a secret too. The Rudy storyline was a rather shocking revelation although I had my suspicions, but I really hoped they were wrong. It's a storyline that could upset a lot of people, shoot it upset me, but the author kept a surprisingly neutral attitude about Rudy's whole plotline which was a wise move (I think because it could so easily be misconstrued).

Deadline is a painful tale that will force teenagers to confront the fact that we could die at any time, which is something that I personally don't like to think about. I wish the book had been less didactic in nature, the lessons are important but I felt the author was too heavy handed in spreading his message. I love that the main character is short and not ashamed of it, I love that he wants to go out with a girl who towers over him and I love that Dallas Suzuki has such a horrific, heartbreaking storyline and yet she is also a terrific, confident athlete. Her tragedy doesn't define her and neither does Ben's and that's awesome. I also firmly believe that Chris Crutcher has this magical ability to make seemingly random historical facts fit well with the story including Malcolm X and the Japanese concentration camps. I don't always agree with some of the sentiments expressed by the author through the characters (there seems to always be one super conservative character and one very liberal character with the main character being the happy medium) but I'm glad the sentiments are being expressed in such a thoughtful and oftentimes humorous way. There's a lot of football talk (plays, positions) that had me completely lost so if you're like me and know nothing about football, I don't think you'll really learn much. But if you already liked football, you will probably get a little more out of those parts!


Disclosure: Received from my Secret Santa Katie @ Bookishly Yours. Thank you!


PS Please, please, please donate money to relief organizations, specifically ones working to help Japan, such as the American Red Cross.

Bang, Bang, You're Dead!

Bang, Bang You're Dead by Narinder Dhami 2009
Corgi Books/Random House

Rating: 3/5

IQ "My mind seems to have fractured into tiny pieces that are flying off in all directions, and I can't seem to hold one thought long enough to examine it before I'm racing on to the next." Mia pg. 243

Mia Jackson's school has an invader, a mysterious gunman. The school is immediately evacuated, but one class is being held hostage by the gunman. Mia fears that the gunman may be her twin brother, Jamie so she sets off to find the gunman. Mia is afraid of everything, especially dying, but she's more afraid of the shooter being her brother.

The ending is way too short. The author drops a bombshell on us and then leaves us hanging. Sure everything is resolved and there's going to be progress in the future but I needed more explanation. How did the mother react? And what's up with Leo? I also felt that the secondary characters were underdeveloped. Mia keeps mostly to herself but she has one friend, Bree. Bree serves only to express a bit of concern over Mia, she never becomes her own character. Same with the typical mean girl, I couldn't even recall her name after I finished the book (her name is Kat). Jamie does have more development, probably because he's Mia's twin. The book starts off slow as well and I have to admit, I finished this book still not liking Mia.

This is definitely a book you'll want to re-read it if only to piece together clues that hinted at the ending. Mia's mother is bipolar and I thought her illness was excellently portrayed, she's reluctant to receive treatment, one minute she's high as a kite, the next she can't leave her room. This is very trying for Mia (and Jamie) and I found their reactions to be authentic to teenagers. *SPOILER*OK so what happened?! Mia has a split personality but I wanted to see that storyline developed a lot more. Not just in one quick chapter. I think that chapter was well written, I could practically hear the panic rising in Mia's voice as she grew angry at her therapist as she worked out her split personality. Yet I wanted to know how Mia's mom would take the diagnosis (is that even the right word?), would this send her into a downward spiral? Such a great plot twist though, I would even describe it as epic. Mia/Jamie weren't behind the shooting, but I totally thought Jamie would be. *End of Spoiler*

Bang, Bang You're Dead has one of the best plot twists I've ever heard, unfortunately the ending is rushed thereby taking away from what could have been a truly great ending. I love that this book features mental illness, I think the topic was handled respectfully. There's little humor in this book, just some very dry lines such as (upon watching her classmates scurry to leave the building) "[o]ne single mass of pure blind fear, everyone alike, teachers and pupils. No one cares about looking cool when they might be staring death in the face." (pg. 32). That line isn't even funny, but for some reason it caused me to smirk. A point is made in the book that school shooting are very, very uncommon in the UK. I wouldn't say they are common here, but I gather that we've had more than the UK. Good twist on a fairly-new (or at least new-to-me to read about) topic.

Disclosure: Received from review from publisher, Thank you!

PS If anyone has read this book, do you think Mia is biracial (as in half Asian-half white)? It's really interesting because Mia and her mother and brother are described so ambiguously. I'm not even sure how I feel about that. I presumed she was white, but since the author is biracial (half Indian-half white) I could see Mia being biracial as well.

Off Color Male Monday: Slam (First Book Blogger Book Club)

Slam by Nick Hornby 2007
G. P. Putnam/Penguin Group

Rating: 3.5/5

Incredible Quote "Who doesn't talk to someone in their heads? Who doesn't talk to God, or a pet, or someone they love who has died, or maybe just to themselves? TH [Tony Hawk]...he wasn't me. But he was who I wanted to be, so that makes him the best version of myself, and that can't be a bad thing, to have the best version of yourself standing there on a bedroom wall and watching you. It makes you feel as though you mustn't let yourself down." Sam pgs. 8-9

Sam's life has slammed into a wall. At first everything was going swimmingly, his teachers talked about college and thought he might do well on his GCSEs, his mum had gotten rid of her rubbish boyfriend and he has a girlfriend, Alicia, who could be a model (and aspires to become one). Alicia and Sam are completely enamored with each other, Sam neglects his skateboarding and Alicia no longer hangs with her friends. Neither one of them spend much time with their parents anymore. The only constant in Sam's life since dating Alicia is that he still talks to Tony Hawk, his idol. Then the wall pops up, the wheels come off the truck but luckily, Tony Hawk has advice for every situation (Sam has read his book Hawk-Occupation: Skateboarder several times over). Whether or not it makes sense is another story...

Now ok, the summary of this book is really vague so I'm just going to go ahead and tell you: Sam gets his girlfriend pregnant. I don't think that's a spoiler because that's what the rest of the book is about and it's really obvious from the first few chapters. It's key to this story and what I liked most about the book has to do with the portrayal of dealing with pregnancy from the male perspective. I didn't like how slowly the book dragged on, I appreciated getting to know Sam's life, but I think bits and pieces of his life could have been shared through dialogue and short flashbacks. I also felt like characters outside of Sam and Alicia's family only existed to carry the story along or provide comic relief. Rabbit is hilarious (I honestly can't comprehend someone being so...unintelligent?) but he never develops into an interesting character and I had hoped he would. His story could have been absolutely engrossing but then that would have taken away from Sam's story. There was also some random dreams that I suppose could be called magical realism since Sam goes to the future and what he sees actually happens but...it was bizarre and the story could have moved along just dandy without the dreams.

This is the second book I've read about teen pregnancy from the perspective of the father (The First Part Last which I don't think any book can hold a candle to) and it has a rather dry sense of humor towards the whole situation. Sam is sarcastic and that's my absolute favourite kind of character. He's also 99& authentic teenage boy (I left out 1% because I'm not a boy so I can't be 100% sure) or at least 100% teenager. Sam tries to (literally) run away from his troubles, he makes stupid decisions, he realizes he has made stupid decisions and then he makes stupider decisions. A contrast is shown in that while Sam can run away, running away is not an option for Alicia. I also found it most refreshing that Sam looks up to an athlete but he isn't under any illusion of grandeur, he's not trying to go pro, he just loves being a skater (which is what skateboarders are called don'tcha know) and therefore, he loves Tony Hawk. There's also some class issues occurring. Usually a girl's parents don't think any guy she dates is good enough for her, but Alicia's parents really believe that, they don't think Sam has a future. They look down on Sam and his mother because Sam's mother had him when she was sixteen (about the same age as Alicia and Sam), they think it's a cycle and even though it takes two to tango, Sam gets all the blame. *SPOILER: Highlight to read* The end bit in which they argue over the last name? SO FUNNY. As if a last name like Jones or Burns will determine how far you go in life. I actually laughed out loud at that part. It also made me mad that Alicia's parents thought based on sharing Sam's last name, their grandchild wouldn't be successful.* End of Spoiler* The conversations between Sam and his mother are great, they are both very funny, very sarcastic and it almost makes me wish my mum and I were closer in age.

Slam is a thoughtful, dry tale of teenage pregnancy from the perspective of the guy. This novel stands out not just because of the point of view, but because Sam's love of skateboarding is always present and because Tony Hawk encourages him to be his best self. Although really, Sam doesn't need the encouragement. He's going to get a face full of gravel at times (oo is that skateboarding lingo?), but with the help of Tony Hawk, Alicia, his mum, Roof (awww) and even Mark, he will become an excellent father. There is a very telling conversation (paraphrased) in the book between Alicia and Sam in which Alicia gets mad that Sam always asks 'what are YOU going to do?', she wants him to use 'we, what are we going to do?' but then he observes that 'we didn't get any say in whether or not you are even keeping the baby'. Alicia retorts that it's all up to her until the baby comes out because it's her body. It's not preachy, but it's not entirely subtle either, regardless it's a revealing conversation. This is a story infused with light heartened moments that come as a result of a heavy topic that forces teens to grow up fast. To me this book says that it's our fault, but it's not a death sentence and we do have options.

Disclosure: From the library

PS In the spirit of the novel I tried to insert various bits of slang and English grammar in this review ;) How'd I do?

PPSS This review is for First Book Blogger Book Club which I talked about here and you can find links to the other reviews here, First Book distributes books to children who may not otherwise have a chance to own very many. What an amazing cause.

Mini Reviews: Logic of Demons (off color), Better Than I Know Myself & The Buddha of Suburbia

Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine's Soul by H. A. Goodman 2010

IQ "It's not what you've been doing that's important now', said Natalia grabbing his hand once again. 'It's what you will be doing.'" pg. 129

Devin's wife and unborn child have been killed by a 'deranged' man (who also raped Devin's wife). Devin is determined to exact revenge and successful kills the man who murdered his family. Devin is then killed accidentally by the police and has to deal with the consequences of his life in the afterlife.

This book has a message to tell and it must be told. That's not a good thing because this book is so concerned with making sure it gets it's various messages across, the plot disappears. Revenge is bad, be careful what you wish for, don't make fun of other people, every action has a consequence, etc, etc. Interesting messages to be sure but they are so straight forward that the author would have been better off leaving out Devin, Nadine and Natalia and just writing a non-fiction about religion and life in general. The author does a whole lot of telling, and much of it is unnecessary. Allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions is a marvelous thing and the author does not utilize this skill. Furthermore the author seems like he's trying to hard to make sure people know his novel is diverse. At one point we read "the stockier football player dwarfed the 140-pound Jewish kid."(pg. 105). That sentence had no relevance to the story (in fact I didn't understand the point of seeing Devin as a teenager which occurs in this scene), especially because later on the kid talks about his yarmulke. From that sentence alone, a reader could figure out the kid is Jewish. But it doesn't seem as though the author trusted the reader to draw their own conclusions, thus the overcompensation.

It's obvious that the author feels very passionately about what he's writing about and I liked the diversity of the characters but there are too many inconsistencies, stilted dialogue and slow action. The chapters are long and end dramatically such as "[t]he answer to this question would lead to a multitude of unintended consequences." (pg. 32). That's overly dramatic and I don't like ominous foreshadowing. At one point in the novel, Natalia (an angel) is said to have "the charming English accent of a Kenyan." (pg. 95) but then on page 107, the author tells us she's from Rwanda. She never leaves Rwanda so how does she have a Kenyan accent? Or was the author trying to show that Devin just assumed things? It was too unclear. The ideas the author has surrounding the afterlife are intriguing (God is absent until the end of the world, angels vs. demons vs. Paladin), but unfortunately there were too many flaws for me to simply overlook.

Disclosure: Received for review from author. Thank you!

PS Off color because the main character is white but Nadine is Latina and Natalia is from Rwanda, two important secondary characters.

Better Than I Know Myself by Virginia Deberry & Donna Grant 2004
St. Martin's Press

IQ "at this point in their friendship, the method of communication wasn't relevant, they were connected whether it was across a table, via email or by string and a Dixie cup." pg. 359

Carmen grew up in the projects, raised by her abusive brother after her father died and her mother left. Jewell is a former Hollywood-child starlet. Even today her face is still recognized across America. Regina is a BAP (Black American Princess) raised comfortably by her upper middle class father and mother. They meet at Barnard (Columbia's university for women, I didn't know as recently as the '80s Columbia hadn't gone co-ed!) and while Jewell and Regina hit it off right away, Carmen remains closed off and icy. Carmen wants to ace all her classes, keep her head down, become a doctor and never look back at her crappy childhood. Jewell doesn't know what she wants to do and Regina loves throwing parties. Life is going to be full of bumps, bruises and joyrides but through it all, they've got each other.

This book starts off with a good prologue, one that will keep you reading even when the book inches by. In the prologue, one of the three friends has died. For the first time in what feels like forever, I actually predicted right (although I didn't see the Marcus plotline!). And there are absolutely no clues because all three girls constantly face life or death situations and get themselves into some serious scrapes. I do wish the Deberry & Grant books were less dramatic. Yes life is hard but would one person really go through as much as the characters do? It's more than a little over the top and after awhile I was sick and tired of the tragedy, I was emotionally drained and not in a good way. And this is a more personal thing but I picked up this book hoping it would discuss more about being and in college. Didn't happen but that was just as a result of different expectations, not a big deal.

However, once again there is a really strong friendship between this three women and that makes me happy. It takes a little while for them all to become friends (yes sometimes future-friends don't hit it off right away!) but that makes the end product that much better. There are also discussions of class that aren't so obvious. All three girls come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and that does affect their outlook on life but so do their parent situations and other things they went through going up. Just like being Black doesn't define them, neither does being rich/poor/middle class. I wish there were lighter moments and some chapters could have been greatly whittled down but all in all this was a nice read about the strongest of friendships and living life to the fullest because "it's not like we don't have to think about tomorrow but a life is something you build-and the tomorrows won't add up to much if we haven't been countin the todays." (Ty, pg. 367)

Disclosure: Bought :)

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi 1990

Faber & Faber LTD

IQ "I believe happiness is only possible if you follow your own feeling, your intuition, your real desires. Only unhappiness is gained by acting in accordance with duty, or obligation, or guilt, or the desire to please others. You must accept happiness when you can, not selfishly, but remembering you are a part of the world, of others, not separate from them. Should people pursue their own happiness at the expense of others? Or should they be unhappy so others can be happy? There's no one who hasn't had to confront this problem." The Buddha of Suburbia (aka Karim's dad aka God) pg. 76

Karim is a bicultural (half Indian on his father's side, half English on his mother's) teenager growing up in the suburbs of south London during the '70s. He's desperate to escape to London and find himself, while figuring out why his father left his mother, and why he is attracted to girls and guys. furthermore how did his father became the 'buddha of suburbia' a
wise 'Indian' mystic to bored subrbanites looking for something 'exoctic.'? And what is Karim going to do after high school (or secondary school as I believe it's called in the UK?)

Karim is a strange kid but amusing. He doesn't intend to be funny but his reasoning behind his actions and speculation as to why people act the way they do are sometimes way off (or so it seems. I suspect since this is a literary book everything probably could have some kind of deep meaning) but sometimes they are dead-on. The book starts off rather slowly but if you stick with it, you may very well end up enjoying it. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, mainly because as an American I know very little about life in the UK but I just finished studing the UK for my Comparative Government class so I had some background/cultural context. This book makes it clear that in London at least (and I suspect the entire UK), class comes first, followed by race as divisions in society. While I can't test to the authenticity of the novel's London setting (although it won the WhiteBread Award, ha ironic name), it felt very real to me and I was impressed with how the author described the UK (specifically England) through his characters in both subtle and non subtle ways. "England's decrepit. No one believes in anything. Here, it's money and success. But people are motivated. They do things. England's a nice place if you're rich, but otherwise it's a f***ing swamp pf prejudice, class confusion, the whole thing. nothing works over there. And no one works-" (Charlie, pg. 256). The novel takes place when unemployment is on the rise and there are widespread strikes. Margaret Thatcher will soon come to power, after the Winter of Discontent.

Class differences are also shown through the adults in Karim's life. Karim's dad, Haroon is a civil servant and he hates his job, he comes from a wealthy family in India and doesn't know how to take care of himself. Yet in England, he is seen as a second-class citizen because he is a lowly servant AND Indian. The woman Haroon leaves his wife (and Karim's mum) for, Eva, is a social climber. I have no idea where she gets her money from but she is able to spend it on idle pursuits, like parading around the buddha of suburbia and trying to find her place in London society. Karim's mother is devastated after his father leaves and she doesn't handle it well. She doesn't want to leave the house and when she finally does, she has no desire to work. When she finally starts dating again, more than one person notes that she's dating an Englishman and Karim 'feels somewhat betrayed' that she's not dating another Indian. I was puzzled as to why Karim had a brother, Allie. I forgot all about him because he appears so infrequently, he should have been written off. I admit, I would put this book down and then find it hard to get back into the story. Gradually, it picks up and just like Karim never stops talking, this book has something to say about everything; from class differences, divorce, and racism to life in the suburbs and being bi-sexual. Karim is a class-A jerk and his decisions will leave you in disbelief, but that makes the book entertaining and riveting. Be warned: if you don't like graphic sex, you won't like this book but if you can overlook that (and I recommend that you do), you will find yourself in for a treat.

Disclosure: From Trish, <3


PS Another favorite quote "[...]and asked Jammie if I could tell Helen what was happening. [Karim]

'Yes, if you want to expose our culture as being ridiculous and our people as old-fashioned, extreme and narrow-minded'." Jamila pg. 71

That quote is telling because I think it speaks to the fear people from different cultures/ethnic backgrounds can have of opening up to Westerners/white people, for fear of confirming stereotypes and not 'uplifting the race.' But that's just my very brief interpretation since this review is long as is :)

Off Color: Trickster's Girl

Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell (ARC) 2011
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books

Rating: 1.5/5

IQ "'I don't make many promises', Kelsa told him. 'Because if I promise, if I start something, I'll finish it. So I'm careful about commitments.'" pg. 63 (quotes subject to change)

It's 2098 and the world has changed drastically. Kelsa is fifteen and her father has just died from cancer. Her mother is distant and Kelsa is removed from her schoolwork and friends. Then she meets Raven. Raven is the handsomest guy Kelsa has ever met but then he tells her that he's the Native American Trickster god. Raven babbles on about an impending ecological disaster involving a tree plague and that Kelsa can help him save the world. Is he crazy? Or could she could really help him save the world?

Let's get this out of the way. Kelsa's using of blackface dropped this book down so much. I just couldn't get behind that. Yes she only used dark foundation but the fact that she thought it was ok to do so in the first place is beyond troubling. So yes massive failure on that part, my mouth literally dropped open, especially when she goes on to bemoan that "[h]er mouth and nose weren't right, but she knew several mixie kids who'd drawn paler skin and Caucasian features out of the genetic lottery. She didn't look like a white girl anymore" (pgs. 191-192). 'Nuff said. In addition, this book moves so s-l-o-w-l-y. I would put this book down and have a hard time getting back into the story. It was normal that Kelsa would be freaked out by a guy who shapeshifts into a raven, but after awhile I just wanted the story to move on. In addition, the uneasy friendship between Kelsa and Raven was odd. They aren't enemies or friends or frenemies. It's almost like the author couldn't decide until the end if she wanted them to be a couple or just friends. The oddest thing was Joby, Kelsa's little brother. He was just a prop. I don't think he said anything at all, he just hung out with their mother and I have no idea why Kelsa wasn't just made an only child.

I did think this book brought up some interesting ideas about the future. For instance, Kelsa is upset that Raven has such a condescending attitude towards humans but at one point she says (I'm paraphrasing) that it's the white man's fault because the Native Americans knew how to take care of the Earth. But Raven says the Native Americans probably would have messed up the Earth too, they just didn't get a chance to stick around long enough on their land with the new technology. I also thought that the new gun laws were intriguing. Guns are illegal and the few guns out there are plastic. The plastic barrel deforms a little bit each time a gun is fired. Hmm, cool. Other things were silly, like the elimination of swear words so everyone says 'frack' and 'carp'. Of course, the environmental message is a good one. Take care of our planet now because who knows what could be happening to it years later? A deadly tree plague with possibly cancerous effects. Or y'know, something equally tragic.

Trickster's Girl suffers from an unfortunate incident with Kelsa trying to disguise herself with blackface and a very slow start. In addition frenemies Kelsa and Raven are difficult to understand, I never felt as though I knew anything personal about Kelsa and Raven. Kelsa is devastated by the loss of her father and Raven doesn't have human feelings, but I needed more to go on than that (I didn't need them to have a romance but I couldn't figure out where they stood with each other). Plus the writing is redundant and over explanatory. The environmental message is the first one I've come across in a book (although I do know of others) and it's a positive resounding theme. The author has some fascinating ideas concerning the end of the 21st century and the inclusion of magic is a nice twist but this book has too many flaws (in my opinion) to make the book an enjoyable experience.

Disclosure: Received as part of Traveling to Teens blog tour. Thank you Houghton!

Off-color reviews are books by poc but not about poc OR books with an important secondary poc character. This book fits the latter.

Mini Reviews: The Long Song, White is for Witching, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

The Long Song by Andrea Levy 2010
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

IQ "My beloved son Thomas did caution, when first I set out to flow this tale upon the world, that although they may not be felt like a fist or a whip, words have a power that can nevertheless cower even the largest man to gibbering tears." pg. 23

Miss July (at the urging of her son Thomas) is putting pen to paper and describing her life as a slave in Jamaica. July is a mulatto child who at first grows up with her mother on the sugar plantation they work at, but later on, the sister of her 'owner' decides to make July her personal servant and rename her Marguerite. July is mischievous, ingenious and soon she becomes indispensable to her mistress. July learns to read from her mistress Caroline in order to better help Caroline
keep the books and run the plantation. After the Baptist War the slaves are free, but July doesn't feel any different and she still lives with Caroline. The arrival of a new (young) English overseer, Robert Goodwin, brings dramatic and subtle changes to July's world.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I've never liked reading about slavery. Even if it's a great literary masterpiece, I have to work my way up to it. This one intrigued me because I had read reviews that described it as 'humorous.' A book with slavery that was humorous? Hmm. I'm glad I took a chance and read it. It's not laugh-out-loud funny but there is a dark sense of humor that runs throughout the book. Readers will smile or smirk at the quiet acts of rebellion slaves engaged in. Ranging from spitting in the dinner to using a bedsheet as a tablecloth, etc. At first I was appalled at how crude the actions could be, but then I realized that I can't even fully comprehend what slaves had to go through, so who am I to judge? I almost wish I read more about slavery so that I could compare American slavery to Jamaican slavery. I would wager a guess that Jamaican slavery was much harsher, although it did end earlier (I believe 1838). July does not like to dwell on all the horrors of slavery so it's not as graphic as it could be. I'm just really sensitive to suffering in literature so I was constantly wincing or balling my fists up. There was an excellent quote about the demise of slavery and the celebrations that ensued "As the coffin with the words, 'colonial slavery died July 31, 1838, aged 276 years' was lowered into the ground, a joyous breeze blew. It was whipped up from the gasps of cheering that erupted unbounded. When the handcuffs, chains and iron collars were thrown into that long-awaited grave to clatter on top of slavery's ruin, the earth did tremor. For at that moment every slave upon this island did shake off the burden of their bondage as one." (pg. 141)

The Long Song is a more gentle look at slavery as well as eye-opening. I'm willing to bet that not many Americans know of the Baptist War, which was a slavery uprising that lasted ten days in 1832. July lives through that and it's interesting to read her observations on it as well as to see how Caroline felt about it all. There's nothing suspenseful to this plot, but there are some surprises (especially concerning the white master). I was also shocked by the madness of some of the characters, ones who started out quite reasonable and then became someone else entirely. Also for readers who don't know much about the history of color prejudice in the Black community, this book provides a good foundation in seeing why everyone thought you were alright if you were white (or just light). July is a fun narrator to have because she is quick-witted and you can just tell that while she's sharing some of her more mischief-filled tales, she's winking at the reader and smirking to herself. Her son has to cajole her into providing more details and we're grateful he does (she records the gist of their conversations) because it offers a less than rosy picture that July was trying to present. This makes July somewhat unreliable but her son always holds her to task (and she complains about that quite a bit). July acknowledges that slavery sucked but she doesn't want to dwell on it anymore. The writing was such that I could sense July sitting next to me and hear the cadence of Jamaica in her voice and the voices of other slaves and even the poor white folks. Historical fiction at its finest, provides a firm sense of setting and characters.

Disclosure: Received from Trish. Mil gracias Trish!





White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi 2009
Picador Press

IQ "What I mean is, each act of speech stands on the belief that someone will hear. My note to Miri says more than just I'm lonely. Invisibly it says that I know she will see this, and that when she sees this it will turn her, turn her back, return her." Eliot pg. 4

The home of the Silver women is haunted. Not just haunted, but it has a mind of its own. The house does not like to be lonely and so the Silver women can never leave. Miranda Silver's mother, Lily, died suddenly, leaving Miranda and her twin brother, Eliot, hurt and lonely. Their father, Luc, cares deeply for them but he's powerless to help them against the forces of the house. When Miranda develops pica (which causes her to eat things like chalk, mud and plastic), none of the therapy or most appetizing meals cooked up by Luc, can help her. Miranda gets thinner and thinner and slowly starts to disappear, leaving Eliot and her best friend, Ore confused and scared.

This is a weird book. The writing style is both spectacular and frustrating. The author picks seemingly random words to both end the first sentence and start the first sentence but they aren't connected. Like so: "she heard the clatter of cutlery, she heard the whir of
the lift
broke down in the night." (pg. 35) It's a very cool writing style and new-to-me. Not sure if other authors do it. The writing can be frustrating though because it can be confusing. It's not always clear whose talking (the house, Miranda, Eliot, Ore?). Also a large chunk of the book has nothing to do with Ore so I'm not even sure why she's mentioned. Although she does become quite important in the end. The writing/plot can become frustrating because it's full of hidden meanings and half truths. Nothing is ever fully revealed so you have to draw your own conclusions on nearly everything. Due to this, I never felt that I truly got to know any of the characters either. They simply remained names on the page who were described quite a bit, but I just didn't have a distinct grasp of their personality (aside from everyone worrying about how odd Miranda was getting). Furthermore, I could not understand why people were attracted to Miranda. In part because I couldn't figure out her personality but also because she ate chalk and other inedible objects and she was extremely thin and could be off-putting. Mystifying, especially when she says things like this "[s]he peered up and down the broad passageways and tiptoed past the bedroom doors, feeling like dust, as if she were everywhere at once. She could pull herself tight and then explode and choke everyone in the house." (pg. 77). Elegant statement, and yet it's also chillingly mental.

White Is For Witching isn't completely dark. It has a light, almost playful quality to it because the author never flat out describes the horrors that occur in the house, they are merely hinted at. I was also intrigued by how the novel touches on the topic of immigration. I don't know much about England and immigration, but I do know it's a touchy subject and more and more people seem to be anti-immigrant. This book looks at that because the house hates foreigners and sooner or later, the house drives them away (Luc turned the house into an inn). There is a lot of talk of the Kosovans but I know nothing about this particular group of people so I was more than a little lost.I think I understood why the house was so xenophobic though and the reason was fascinating and while I thought it was completely daft, I was able to see the twisted logic. Another popular theme in this book is madness, Eliot states "I've read that madness is present when everything you see and hear takes on an equal significance. A dead bird makes you cry, and so does a doorknob. This morning I was not mad. The only thing significant to me in all the world was the creaking upstairs." (pg. 244). Everyone in this book is slowly going mad in some way and it all seems to come back to Miranda. Perhaps I will revisit this book in the future and better understand it. For now I can appreciate the complexity of the plot, the stunning writing and the questions concerning madness and immigration (even if I don't understand what exactly is being asked or what the answer is). To me the most horrifying thing about this book is how vague and unexpected everything is, the situations described are truly bone-chilling but they are never completely described. It's up to your overactive imagination XD

Disclosure: Thank you Tricia!

PS It's an off-color review because the author is Black but the main character, Miranda is white. Her best friend Ore is Black.


Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans 2010
Riverhead Books/Penguin Group


IQ "We were not so much tempting fate as barganing with it. With the sincere fatalism only teenagers can manage, we assumed that what happened before the year was out would determine what our lives would be forever after, and no one seemed thrilled about their prospects. Life became an insistent preoccupation with what happened next." Crystal pg. 218


A short-story collection about young Black people living life. Honestly that's all there is to it. There are eight short stories and while most of them focus on race and coming-of age, there are also questions of love, class, and friendships.

I really like the above quote because I feel as though I'm going through it right now. Even though it's not my junior year, it seems as though now I spend at least five minutes a day trying to plot out my future or imagine what it will be like. I want to go back to living in the moment, like most of us do as kids. We are told that are scores on the SAT, ACT, PSAT and our GPAS will determine our futures because if we show that we are 'smart' enough we will get into a great college, from there we will find love, money and happiness. Yeah ok. Anyway, this quote really resonated with me and it's from my favorite story of the collection, "Robert E. Lee is Dead". I'm not going to talk about every single story in this collection. My least favorite story was Virgins. It's my least favorite because it had the least satisfactory ending for me. My fear with short story collections is that I will want MORE and I do want more, but more from this author. Most of the stories ended in a messy/open ended way but it wasn't too cliffhangerish, except for some odd reason, "Virgins" left me feeling cheated. "Virgins" is about two fifteen year old girls who hang out and decide to go to a club. With fake IDs anything is possible and both girls are going to learn some hard-earned lessons about sex and friendship. I love a quote from this story when the narrator, Erica says quote matter-of-factly "We weren't bad-looking, neither one of us, but we weren't ever going to be beautiful, either, I knew that already. We were the kind of girls who would always be very pretty if but if never seemed to happen." (pg. 10) I can totally and completely relate to that, feeling as though I would be truly pretty IF I could change...xyz (hair, nose, etc.). The story that provided the most food-for-thought regarding the complexities of class was "Harvest". It centers around abortion, "white trash", and making money by selling your eggs to fertility clinics. All of this while in college. In "Robert E. Lee is Dead", Crystal has everything going for her and she seemingly throws it all way. Definitely the story I was the most emotionally invested in.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self manages to sound both matter-of-fact and unsure. One minute the young narrators and the other characters are confidently expressing what they plan to do (even if they know it's going to land them in trouble) and the next they are filled with self-doubt, waiting for someone to talk them down from what they're about to (before they suffocate themselves). Yet they are also telling the readers to hold back all judgement until you've finished their story and THOUGHT about it for a few minutes. To me, the main characters asked the readers to hold off on all rash judgements. None of the people in this collection know exactly what it means to be an adult and it's not like they can ask their parents for help. Parents are rarely mentioned but it is noted that family is more than a little complicated and full of secrets. It will be interesting to re-read these stories when I'm actually in my 20s and then when I'm older and am able to actually look back. For now, most of these stories felt as though they could be happening to certain people I know and detailed experiences that I'm sure I'll come up against at some point. Most importantly of all, I appreciate an author who writes for adults treating teenagers with respect and compassion. She shows that we know more than we get credit for and that we go through a lot, internally and externally. As I'm sure you can imagine, I tend to avoid short story collections because I'm afraid of info dumps/lots of backstory and being left in too much suspense (I HATE suspense). Fortunately for me, Danielle Evans doesn't have much of any of that. Her next book is a novel, The Empire Has No Clothes and it involves politics. Best believe I will be reviewing it here. Read the poem the title comes from (LOVE the poem. Can't believe I just learned of it now).

Disclosure: My mom bought it because she liked the title. I was going to buy it anyway but I'm glad she beat me to it :)

PS Another favorite quote from my second-favorite story ("Wherever You Go, There You Are"), "It makes me happy when I recognize myself in a lyric, even if the lyric is I lied, you lied, I lied, to really love something is sucidie, because how I feel about Brian hasn't been about love in a long time, it's been about mattering the most, and as I count the songs, I'm confident I'm still winning on that scorecard." Carla pg. 188

Male Monday (Off Color): The Lighter Side of Life and Death

The Lighter Side of Life and Death by C.K. Kelly Martin 2010
Random House Children's Books

Rating: 4/5


IQ "I don't want to obsess on what Kat said about staying away from each other but how exactly do you cut yourself off from someone that you've thought of/seen/spoken to every day for the past three years? I understand that she's confused but her cure hurts worse than the disease." Mason pg. 94


Mason Rice is loving life as a sixteen-year old. He just came off a performance high for a play that he had a starring role in. Then, that same night, there was a party and he lost his virginity to his gorgeous best friend, Kat Medina. he thought it was an amazing. Until he learns that Kat didn't see as such a great experience. She regrets crossing the friendship line and she wants to forget it ever happens, even if she has to forget Mason. Mason is confused by Kat's reaction and hurt so when he meets the attractive Colette, he decides he wants to get involved with her. Thing is, she's twenty three. Mason's not sure his feelings are reciprocated until Colette invites him to her apartment and from there a good times relationship ensues.

I saw the cover of this book and for some odd reason I thought it was about two poc. I now realize Mason is white and the brown-skin belongs to Kat. Who knows what I was thinking. I also didn't know the story took place in Canada. I was completely confused when Mason said he only had a year and a half till he left home since y'know, in the U.S. it would be two years. Not that this bothered me, the story was a great one. I do wish that Kat had been better developed. I guess since Kat was trying to stay away from Mason, it's harder to show her personality. I wanted to understand why Mason was so enamored with her but since his contact with her was limited in this book, I never got a grasp as to why he thought she was so special. She didn't handle the situation well, but that made the book more realistic. I could understand why she felt so flustered after she lost her virginity to Mason. That's a bit awkward, especially since they weren't dating. I didn't understand Brianna's deal either. Brianna is Mason's new stepsister and I wasn't sure if she just hated life in general or if she was mad that her mom married Mason's dad? I needed some more glimpses into her life. I also would have liked more about Mason's friends. He seemed to keep them all at a distance which was interesting.

I love that it's about a guy who's living a fantasy, getting involved with a sexy older woman. I love that Colette knows Mason's 'living the dream' and she doesn't mind. well I don't love it per se, I love that it's being addressed. I like that the author is so unflinching in writing about it. There's no moral undertone to this story, everything is just reported. This is how Mason feels, this is what Colette says, etc. There's no grand explosion in the end and I appreciated that. The consequences of the relationship aren't ignored, there are consequences but nothing drastic happens. I was worried that this book would be very high-drama but it was low-key, much like Mason and Colette's relationship. There are no graphic sex scenes but they are portrayed. After all, would anyone really expect Mason and Colette not to have sex? Their relationship starts off as being focused on the good times, but it does get complex. There are significant others in both their lives and what they are doing, while not illegal, is frowned upon. I like the added situation of Mason having to adjust his home situation. Mason's parents are divorced and for years it's been just him and his dad. Now he has to accept that his father is getting re-married to a woman with a pre-teen and a young kid. It's a big adjustment and on the surface Mason seems to take it in stride. On the surface only.

The Lighter Side of Life and Death is indeed about situations that are a lot easier to deal with than life and death (drugs, death of family members, etc). The author doesn't mock the issues teenagers face or try to show that there are simple solutions to our problems. it's complicated, but in this story at least, teens can handle it. There's a great distinction between love and lust and the author makes that clear. Mason has to find that out for himself though. The 'i-love-yous' aren't traded until the very end, as it should be. The book could use further secondary character development but the book mostly focuses on Mason and Colette, and those two are at their fullest potential. Their relationship is one of fun and doubt. The reader (like Mason) knows it won't work out, but that doesn't make this any less of a notable tale and I got caught up in it all. Plus there's an added bonus of the story being set in Canada, a country that was quite foreign to me.

Disclosure: Overdue from the library. Yay late fees!

Off Color Male Monday: Hard Love

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger 1999
Simon & Schuster

Rating: 2.5/5

IQ "That's what I love about writing. Once you get the words down on paper, in print, they start to make sense. It's like you don't know what you think until it dribbles from your brain down your arm and into your hand and out through your fingers and shows up on the computer screen, and you read it and realize: That's really true; I believe that." John pg. 7

John's parents are divorced and since the divorce, John has been devoid of emotion. He's also neutral in his sexuality, not sure if he's gay or straight. His mother won't come into any kind of contact with him and his father would rather be anywhere else than sit down to a weekly dinner with his son. To make matters worse, John's mom is getting married and her fiance (Al) wants John and his mother to move in with him and his (Al's) mother. John has only one friend, Brian, whom he holds at a distance, so he expresses his true thoughts in homemade zines. In his zine, Banafish, John writes poetry and sarcastic articles such as "Memoirs From Hell." Through is newfound love for zines, he discovers the amazing Marisol, a "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian" who publishes the zine that inspired John, Escape Velocity. John is determined to meet the writer of this zine and when the two finally meet, they don't hit it off right away. But dysfunctional families and wanting to escape, have a way of bring people together...

This story seemed pretty typical to me, although when it was published it was probably less-of-the-norm. You have the cold hearted guy and the eccentric girl who draws him out of his shell and forces him to care. There's nothing really unpredictable about this book, for all of John's complaining, I would complain that he's fairly predictable. At least Marisol managed to surprise me every once in a while. I also didn't care for the ending as it left one relationship hanging in the balance, I would like to know if that relationship has been ended or if there is some hope to rekindling it. Also the actions of the parents are never fully explained, which is frustrating (and John should have been frustrated too).

John Galardi Jr. has told a lie to someone who hates liars, Marisol does not tell lies and can't abide anyone who tells them. John tells her his name is Giovanni (an authentic Italian names seems like something she would appreciate). Strike one. Strike two follows some time afterward when John realizes he has fallen in love with Marisol. Something Marisol feared and she used that fear to keep her distance. Marisol is the typical "cool" character, someone you would want to get to know, but never would because she looks so intimidating (wears all black) and keeps to herself. Initially, I thought I would have a hard time liking John because he is so mean to Brian, who is like a puppy dog, always finding him around and always chattering away about something. Furthermore, I was impatiently waiting for John to GO OFF on his parents and the fact that he never really did bothered me. But that's' more of a personality difference between myself and the main character. I could relate to John's neutral feelings towards things and the fact that he tried not to show any emotion. The issue of his sexuality is never flat out stated, but you can make an assumption. It was cool to learn about zines and I liked that the design of the book was similar to (I presume) the design of a zine. Even the writing was sort of slanted like it might appear in a magazine or a zine.

Hard Love is an average read that introduces two characters with potential, but neither is particularly interesting. The story was too predictable from the little love 'triangle' (if it can even be called that) to the reactions of the parents to certain events to the falling out the main characters have. No secondary characters are fully developed, they appear sporadically when John and Marisol need someone their own age to vent to, but not with. I liked the overall design of the book and part of its charm lies in some dated aspects of it. For some reason, it read like a book published in the '90s to me (especially when a car phone! was mentioned). I do have hope that the sequel, told from Marisol's point of view will be more interesting.

Male Monday is a meme I started in which I review a book with a male main character. Feel free to use this meme, although I would appreciate credit for the meme title. Leave your link in the comments :)

PS I wasn't a fan of the song the book is named after. The lyrics are nice but the song is too slow/hippy-ish for me.

Off Color: Other

Other by Karen Kincy 2010
Flux

Rating: 4/5

IQ "My pooka half rises slowly within me, leaning against my bones. It isn't eager to shapeshift and fight. It's...defensive. Feeling my fear. My fear? It is me, of course. I can't talk about myself as if I have split personalities. I can't section off half of myself and pile all the recklessness and shame there." Gwen pgs 166-167

Gwenhwyfar (Gwen) Williams is half-pooka, half human. Gwen has never met her Welsh pooka father, and Others in her community (the name for paranormal creatures in this book) hide their identities, so she has no one to talk to about the complications and joys of being Other. As half-pooka, Gwen can shapeshift. She usally shapeshifts into a horse as its the most common form of a pooka (I chose the IQ to illustrate how Gwen feels about shapeshifting), but she can change into any animal. A new werewolf pack has moved into Gwen's hometown of Klikamuks, Washington and at the same time, Others are being murdered. No one is safe, Gwen has lost one dear friend and she does not intend on losing another. Gwen decides to investigate who is killing Others and with the help of Tavian, a Japanese fox spirit, she comes closer and closer to the truth. But Gwen's time is up.

I read this because April really liked it. Plus the fact that she describes Tavian as being awesome and Asian, caught my eye. If not for that review, I wouldn't have read this book. Not because it didn't sound interesting, but because I don't have time right now to read non-poc YA/MG books, especially in the paranormal genre. But I'm so glad I saw that review because I would have missed out on a highly unique and enjoyable story. I thoroughly enjoyed learning a bit about the world of pookas. A small quibble with the story, is that personally, I wanted more information on pooka and Wales. Part of me wishes that Gwen had visited Wales/met her father/interacted with other pookas. But there's a possibility of a sequel and the book worked just fine the way it is. The ending seemed really rushed though. The build-up was done at a good pace, not too fast and not too slow, but all of a sudden, bullets were flying, people were being kidnapped and then BAM we know who the killer is. That being said, I never knew who the killer was, I was kept on my toes.

Tavian is a marvelous character. He is versatile, however, he has no noticeable flaws. So in that respect, he is not realistic. While I can't overlook that, I do have much love for him. I love that he's short, Asian, and hot. How many times have you read/seen an Asian teenage guy portrayed/described as 'cute' or 'hot'. Or even a short guy? So hooray for guys shorter than their crushes/hot Asian guys! Heehee ;) In addition to his looks, Tavian is incredibly patient and compassionate. Tavian and Gwen start off as friends and while there is chemistry bubbling between them, it is subtle. Tavian is a kitsune, which is a Japanese fox spirit. He can turn into a fox as well as create illusions. Zach (Gwen's boyfriend) is OK. I admit he's a nice guy, but he has some really rude/awful moments and even if Gwen forgives him, I cant bring myself to. I liked that the love triangle is so understated and while the reader may think it's obvious who Gwen should pick, the author completely surprises you with actions from both love interests. Gwen is utterly charming. She's not too bratty, not sickly-sweet, she was someone I could relate to and since her personality wasn't on either extreme, I felt that she was someone I would meet at my school (although she is homeschooled so I wouldn't actually meet her :p). She's quiet, but quite astute and she has a rebellious and protective spirit, which I adore. Her half-pooka side does not define her but it makes the story a more enriching experience.

Other is a singular novel set in modern day America in which Others are a natural sight, but they face prejudice. The prejudice that Others face can easily be uncomfortably remind people of how GLBT people are treated along with ethnic minorities. In addition, Gwen's feelings of isolation due to her half-pooka side run parallel to feelings of loneliness that other teenagers may feel as a result of what-have-you. The romance is refreshing since it's understated and while the love triangle leans towards one of the love interests, neither one is vilified. I had trouble liking Zach (as crazy as it sounds I was better able to sort-of understand the killer than him) but I think that has to do with my own personal experiences with prejudice. I can be harsh when it comes to ignorant people when it comes to discrimination. Gwen is a heroine that everyone will like and readers will delight in the fact that SOME paranormal creatures openly interact with humans. More pookas and kitsunes please.

Disclosure: Won from Young Adult (& Kids!) Book Central. Thank you!