Review of Sweet, by Emmy Laybourne

Science Fiction, Teen Fiction Review 0

sweet_largeSweet

by Emmy Laybourne

Feiwel and Friends, New York, 2015. 272 pages.

I feel like I shouldn’t have liked this book. But I was charmed by the two main characters and their sweet romance. Laurel has been invited to go on the cruise of a lifetime by her rich friend, Vivika. Tom was a child star who is now trying to shake his image as a tubby toddler who grew up in view of the world. He’s been hired as media host for this high budget cruise.

The cruise is to celebrate the invention of a new artificial sweetener, Solu. Besides being sweet, Solu sucks away fat. During the week-long cruise, before sales of Solu are allowed to the general public, the lucky (and wealthy) 500 guests on the ship are going to lose 5% of their weight.

Laurel is there primarily to support her friend. I love the explanation of why Laurel honestly feels good about her own body:

The messed-up thing is that Viv and I weigh around the same. I think we look fine. Like normal young women with curves in more or less the right places.

But Viv hates her body. And sometimes I can tell she thinks I should hate mine, too.

Maybe the reason Viv and I feel so different about our weight can be explained by our parents — or by the shape of our parents.

Viv’s dad is built like a fireplug. Short and fat. Exudes wealth, and perhaps because of that, he could care less about his weight. Viv’s mom? Even though she counts calories with a microscope, she’s still a wee bit oversize. She’s always wearing “foundation garments” and trying to get Viv and I to wear them. I think she might even wear Spanx to bed.

My dad? Regular height. Regular-dad beer belly. And my mom? Exactly like me. We’re both 5′ 7″. Both size fourteen. Ample breasts, belly, and rear.

So genetically, both Viv and I are set up to have the bodies we have.

But here’s the thing: My Dad loves the way my mom looks.

My mom will come home from a day at the bank with her hair frizzy, her suit jacket rumpled, her bust straining the buttons on her blue button-down shirt, and my dad will take her in his arms and gaze at her like she’s the most beautiful woman on earth. he thinks she’s sexy and perfect the way she is. (I know this because he tells her. Frequently. Often in public.)

So I know it’s possible.

It’s possible to find a guy who will find me attractive. I could even find one who finds the overflowing scoopfuls of me sexy and perfect.

Viv, on the other hand, has had to watch her dad grow steadily disgusted with her mom’s body over the years.

I like the way Tom, indeed, finds Laurel curvy and attractive.

How do they meet? Laurel throws up on his shoes.

As the cruise starts, Laurel gets horribly seasick — too sick to eat anything, let alone the Solu-laced desserts. Tom is trying to get rid of his baby fat, and is under a strict regimen with his trainer and best friend, Derek. Derek doesn’t want him to eat anything but “real food,” so Tom skips the Solu, as well.

The beginning of the cruise, when they run into each other and notice each other, is simply fun.

When Laurel starts to feel better, people taking Solu are already starting to act a little strange….

And that’s where I stopped believing the story, though it’s certainly a dramatic one. Supposedly, Solu can make fat disintegrate extremely rapidly. (Where does it go? Wouldn’t people at least have an elimination problem?) As well, it turns out to be the most addictive substance ever invented. I couldn’t quite believe that, either. I mean, with most addictive substances, the effect on different people varies. Surely, some could withstand its effects?

But not on this nightmare cruise. As you can imagine, when the Solu supply starts getting low, things start getting ugly. Very ugly. Oh, another thing I didn’t believe was that Solu addicts have a heightened sense of smell and can smell trace amounts of Solu — and will do anything to get it.

So, the story is one of survival for Laurel and Tom and the other people (mostly crewmen) who have managed to stay off Solu. What’s more, at midnight on the last scheduled day of the cruise, Solu is going to go on sale to the general public. And everyone thinks it’s safe….

I felt like it was just as well I didn’t really believe this book — because the things that happened as Solu took hold were nauseatingly horrifying. On top of that, some of the exploits that happen with a severe injury (I’ll say no more than that) were quite unbelievable to me, too.

So I didn’t quite believe what was happening, or even want to think about it much — but I still couldn’t stop reading, because I wanted to know what would happen to Laurel and Tom. Because, bottom line, I cared about them, because they were simply so sweet.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Octopus Scientists, by Sy Montgomery

Children's Nonfiction Review, Science, Starred Review 0

octopus_scientists_largeThe Octopus Scientists

Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk

Text by Sy Montgomery
Photographs by Keith Ellenbogen

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2015. 72 pages.
Starred Review

The Octopus Scientists is part of the extraordinary Scientists in the Field series. As with The Tapir Scientist, Sy Montgomery puts herself in the story, telling us all about her two-week visit with a team of octopus scientists, what they were studying, and what they found.

In this case, the team of four scientists was searching for octopuses – to study where they live, what they eat, and even their personalities (bold or more cautious).
Among other interesting facts I learned, it turns out that octopuses is correct, not octopi.

Though many people still use this plural, octopus experts deem it incorrect because it mixes up two languages. Octopus is a Greek word meaning “eight-footed.” Adding i to the end of a singular noun is a Latin practice. The correct plural is octopuses, or octopods.

Most of this book addresses the biggest challenge: simply finding the octopuses, who are experts at hiding. But the team is very successful, and besides scientific results and information, because of this Keith Ellenbogen got an abundance of colorful, stunning photographs of octopuses and other sea creatures in the crystal clear water among the coral reefs.

I love the way the books in the Scientists in the Field series show what actual scientists do – including days of fruitless searching. It includes the difficulties they encounter and the mixed results as well as the triumphs and the new information gained.

Along the way, readers learn a plethora of facts about octopuses, and these facts are told as background in an engaging story, so they won’t quickly be forgotten.

This book may well inspire many future marine biologists. And the rest of us will marvel at the intelligence and beauty of the humble octopus. I had no idea they can change color more effectively than a chameleon, yet are colorblind themselves. Or that they can figure out how to open different kinds of latches. Or… This is definitely a book you should read yourself to find out more.

sciencemeetsadventure.com
hmhco.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Sonderling Sunday – Der Lorax, Part Three

Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books.

This week, I’m going to take another look at Der Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.

Lorax

Last year, I found a German version of this classic when I shopped at Powell’s in Portland, and I looked at the beginning of the book, and then the second part. It is time to push onward!

With The Lorax, it’s fun to do sections at a time, because this is poetry! I’ll include the original, the translation, and then give an idea of how the translation reads, literally.

I had just finished the part where the Once-ler had laid out his Thneed Scheme.

“‘I repeat,’ cried the Lorax,
‘I speak for the trees!’
‘I’m busy,’ I told him.
‘Shut up, if you please.'”

= „Ich sprech’ für die Bäume,
den die Bäume sind stumm!?
„Tut mir leid, ich hab’s eilig,
und schrei nicht so rum.?

(“I speak for the trees,
for the trees are silent!
I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry,
and don’t shriek so loud.”)

I like it when the translator makes up words. Since, after all, Dr. Seuss does the same.

“I rushed ‘cross the room, and in no time at all,
built a radio-phone. I put in a quick call.
I called all my brothers and uncles and aunts
and I said, “Listen here! Here’s a wonderful chance
for the whole Once-ler Family to get might rich!
Get over here fast! Take the road to North Nitch.
Turn left at Weehawken. Sharp right at South Stitch.”

Ich rannte durchs Zimmer und baute ganz fix
ein Funktelefon, in null Komma nix.
Ich rief meine Brüder und Onkel und Tanten.
„Ich hab sie, die Chance für alle Verwandten!
Die Einstler-Familie wird saumäßig reich!
Kommt schnell, fahrt Richtung Nordwudelwaldeich,
biegt ab bei Hühhotten, scharf rechts bei Südschleich.?

(“I ran across the room and built entirely
a radio-telephone, in zero point zero.
I called my brothers and uncles and aunts.
‘I have for you the chance for all the relatives!
The Onceler Family will be lousy rich!
Come quickly, drive in the direction of North-wudel-forest-oak,
turn off at Hoo-hotten, sharp right at South-creeping.'”)

“And, in no time at all,
in the factory I built,
the whole Once-ler Family
was working full tilt.
We were all knitting Thneeds
just as busy as bees,
to the sound of the chopping
of Truffula Trees.”

Schon bald strickte dort
in der neuen Fabrik
die Einstler-Familie
im Schichtbetrieb.
Wir strickten die Schnäuchte,
die Nadel klackte
zum Takt der Axt, die die Bäume hackte.

(“Soon knitted there
in the new factory
the Onceler Family
in shift-work.
We knitted the Thneeds,
the needles clacked
to the beat of the axes, that the trees hacked.”)

It’s fun to see what they do with this:

“Then…
Oh! Baby! Oh!
How my business did grow!
Now, chopping one tree
at a time
was too slow.
So I quickly invented the Super-Axe-Hacker
which whacked off four Truffula Trees at one smacker.”

Und dann ging es los …
Mein lieber Schwan!
Der Laden fing zu brummen an!
Doch nur eine Axt
war mir viel zu lahm.
Schnell erfand ich das Super-Axt-Abhackmobil.
Das fällte die Bäume, gleich viermal so viel!

(“And then it began…
my lovely swan!
The shop started to grow!
But only one axe
was for me much to lame.
Quickly invented I the Super-Axe-Hack-Down-Mobile.
That felled the trees, four times as much!”)

When the Lorax comes back:

“He snapped, ‘I’m the Lorax who speaks for the trees
which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please.
But I’m also in charge of the Brown Bar-ba-loots
who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits
and happily lived, eating Truffula fruits.

‘NOW . . . thanks to your hacking my trees to the ground,
there’s not enough Truffula Fruit to go ’round.
And my poor Bar-ba-loots are all getting the crummies
because they have gas, and no food, in their tummies!'”

= „Ich bin der Lorax, der die Bäume vertritt,
die du schneidest mit deinem Hackebeilschnitt.
Doch ich spreche auch für die Braunfelliwullis,
die glücklich in ihren Braunfellipullis
die Nüsse naschten im Trüffelaschatten
und immer genügend zu essen hatten.

Doch seit DU hier anfingst, die Bäume zu hacken,
sitzt den Braunfelliwullis der Hunger im Nacken.
Die armen Kleinen, was sollen sie machen?
Mit knurrendem Magen gibt’s nichts zu lachen.?

(“I am the Lorax, who the trees represents,
which you cut with your Cleaver-Cutter.
But I speak also for the Brown-felli-woolies,
who happily in their Brown-felli-pullovers
the nuts nibbled in the Truffula shadows
and always enough to eat had.

But since YOU here started, the trees to hack,
sit the Brown-felli-woolies with hunger in their necks.
The poor littles, what shall they do?
With growling stomachs there’s nothing to laugh about.”)

And we’ll finish on a sad note as the Brown Bar-ba-loots walk off:

“I, the Once-ler, felt sad
as I watched them all go.
BUT . . .
business is business!
And business must grow
regardless of crummies in tummies, you know.”

= Ich war etwas traurig,
da gingen sie nun.
DOCH …
Geschäft ist Geschäft!
Da kann man nichts tun.
Ob mit oder ohne Geknurre im Magen:
Geschäft ist Geschäft
kann ich da nur sagen.

(“I was somewhat sad,
there they went now.
BUT …
Business is business!
You can’t do anything about that.
With or without growling in stomachs:
Business is business
can I only say.”)

I’ll stop there for tonight!

Now you know a slightly more polite way to shut someone up!
Tut mir leid, ich hab’s eilig,
und schrei nicht so rum.

Bis bald!

Review of Being Christian, by Rowan Williams

Christian, Nonfiction Review 0

being_christian_largeBeing Christian

Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer

William B. Eerdman’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2014. 84 pages.

Here’s how this little book begins:

What are the essential elements of the Christian life? I am not thinking in terms of individuals leading wonderful lives, but just in terms of those simple and recognizable things that make you realize that you are part of a Christian community. This little book is designed to help you think about four of the most obvious of these things: baptism, Bible, Eucharist and prayer.

Christians are received into full membership of the Church by having water poured or sprinkled over them (or, in some traditions, being fully immersed); Christians read the Bible; Christians gather to share bread and wine in memory of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth; and Christians pray. There is a huge and bewildering variety in Christian thinking and practice about all kinds of things, but these four basic activities have remained constant and indispensable for the majority of those who call themselves Christians.

In this book we shall be looking at what those activities tell us about the essence of Christian life, and what kind of people we might hope to become in a community where these things are done.

As I said, this is a short book. I read small parts of it each morning for a couple weeks. The author did get me thinking, and got me looking at these essentials of the Christian faith in a new way.

Here’s something he says about baptism:

So baptism restores a human identity that has been forgotten or overlaid. Baptism takes us to where Jesus is. It takes us therefore into closer neighbourhood with a dark and fallen world, and it takes us into closer neighbourhood with others invited there. The baptized life is characterized by solidarity with those in need, and sharing with all others who believe. And it is characterized by a prayerfulness that courageously keeps going, even when things are difficult and unpromising and unrewarding, simply because you cannot stop the urge to pray. Something keeps coming alive in you; never mind the results.

And here’s something about the Bible:

One of the things that Christian people characteristically do is read the Bible – or rather, in quite a lot of circumstances, they have the Bible read to them. It is worth remembering, especially for us who are inheritors of the Reformation and part of a literate culture, that for the huge majority of Christians throughout the centuries, as well as for many today, the bible is a book heard more than read. And that is quite a significant fact about it. For when you see a group of baptized people listening to the Bible in public worship, you realize that Bible-reading is an essential part of the Christian life because Christian life is a listening life. Christians are people who expect to be spoken to by God.

This is the first paragraph about Eucharist:

For Christians, to share in the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, means to live as people who know that they are always guests — that they have been welcomed and that they are wanted. It is, perhaps, the most simple thing that we can say about Holy Communion, yet it is still supremely worth saying. In Holy Communion, Jesus Christ tells us that he wants our company.

And finally, here’s something from the chapter on Prayer:

That, in a nutshell, is prayer – letting Jesus pray in you, and beginning that lengthy and often very tough process by which our selfish thoughts and ideals and hopes are gradually aligned with his eternal action; just as, in his own earthly life, his human fears and hopes and desires and emotions are put into the context of his love for the Father, woven into his eternal relation with the Father – even in that moment of supreme pain and mental agony that he endures the night before his death.

There’s more in this book, but this will give you an idea of what to expect. I found surprisingly many new insights about these fundamental practices.

eerdmans.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of One Word from Sophia, by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

one_word_from_sophia_largeOne Word from Sophia

by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2015. 36 pages.
Starred Review

This book is tremendously fun. The beginning concisely sums up the situation:

Sophia’s birthday was coming up, and she had five things on her mind –
One True Desire and four problems.

Her One True Desire was to get a pet giraffe for her birthday.

The four problems were . . .
Mother, who was a judge,
Father, who was a businessman,
Uncle Conrad, who was a politician,
and Grand-mamá, who was very strict.

Sophia presents her case eloquently to each of these adults, with her arguments perfectly and amusingly tailored to her audiences.

Her mother says she’s too verbose, her father that she’s too effusive, her uncle that she’s too loquacious, and Grand-mamá that she needs to get to the point.

So Sophia thinks hard and gets her case down to one word, “accompanied by a particularly compelling pair of eyes.”

Now, I expected this book to be an example of how, sometimes, you simply can’t get the things you want. Umm, this is not that book.

Also, kids won’t necessarily get the court references when Sophia makes her case to her mother the judge or the business proposal references in her presentation to her father the businessman or the polling references in the results shown to her uncle the politician. However, those are what makes the book tremendous fun for an adult reading it. And I think kids will enjoy the sounds of the words, even if they don’t grasp all the humorous implications.

And I’m not completely confident that we really should give little negotiators any ideas for how to work. They’re awfully good at what they do already. And if Sophia can con her family into getting her a giraffe? Well, clearly your own little negotiator is much more reasonable. Should we give that ground to them?

But this book is simply way too much fun not to recommend it, so I will be content with warning potential adult readers. In general, I suspect that the enjoyment you get from reading this book will outweigh any drawbacks from ideas your children pick up. (As if they actually need any.) And, best of all, they may remember to say Please!

I should add that the pictures are delightful – portraying a mixed-race family with lovely vibrant colors. And just the right amount of words.

May we all know our One True Desire as clearly as Sophia.

jimaverbeck.com
YasmeenIsmail.co.uk
KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Nightbird, by Alice Hoffman

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

nightbird_largeNightbird

by Alice Hoffman

Wendy Lamb Books (Random House), 2015. 197 pages.
Starred Review

I’ve read at least three different books about a teen who sprouts wings, and how they deal with that. This book is different — It’s about the sister of a boy with wings. In fact, the wings are part of a family curse on all the men of the family.

Twig Fowler lives in the small town of Sidwell, Massachusetts, with her mother and a brother that no one knows about. The town has plenty of tradition – including Twig’s mother’s Pink Apple Pie. But one of the traditions — the Sidwell Monster — is not so benign.

James is tired of living in hiding. And Twig is tired of not having friends. When a family moves into the home of the witch who cursed the Fowler family, and they are descended from that witch — Twig and her new friend Julia decide it may be time to break the spell. But how? And James is getting more and more reckless — and falling in love with Julia’s sister Agate.

This is a feel-good story, and if things worked out awfully nicely, I don’t begrudge any of them a happy ending. We’ve got a kid just wanting friends, a small town infused with magic, and Alice Hoffman’s brilliant writing.

alicehoffman.com

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Source: This review is based on an Advance Reader Copy I got at an ALA conference.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Elena Vanishing, by Elena and Clare B. Dunkle

Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

elena_vanishing_largeElena Vanishing

by Elena and Clare B. Dunkle

Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2015. 293 pages.
Starred Review

Full disclosure: Clare Dunkle is a friend I met when I lived in Germany, and I love everything she writes. But I have good reason! Her writing is wonderful.

Elena Vanishing is a memoir, written from the perspective of Clare’s young adult daughter, Elena, about her years fighting anorexia nervosa. This was released alongside Clare’s book alone, Hope and Other Luxuries, which had the mother’s perspective about everything. I related to that book more, because I’m a mother, too. This book was more painful to read because Elena verbalizes the voice in her head that was saying awful things to her, fueling the anorexia.

I have pages on my site for Children’s Nonfiction and Adult Nonfiction. I should perhaps separate out a page for Young Adult Nonfiction. As it is, I’m going to post this on the Nonfiction page, with the note that it is written for teens, from a teen’s perspective. It may be painful to read, but it does give the reader a better understanding of what it feels like to be in the trap of this life-threatening disease.

Clare says in a note in the front that she thought she knew about anorexia nervosa.

I had believed anorexia nervosa was about dieting to achieve a “supermodel” look. In fact, during Elena’s worst years, she never once looked at herself. Elena dieted because not eating was the only thing that brought her a sense of peace. Anorexia had so altered the pattern of her mind that following her into that inner world was like stepping through a fun-house mirror: everything I took for granted seemed to twist into something else.

Most important, I had believed eating disorders were relatively rare. In fact, around ten percent of the American population will suffer from an eating disorder at some point — the vast majority of them while they’re in their teens or twenties. Now that I know what to look for, I see them everywhere.

But this isn’t the story of anorexia nervosa. It’s the story of a person. It’s the story of Elena Dunkle, a remarkable young woman who fights her demons with grit and determination. It’s the story of her battle to overcome trauma, to overcome prejudice, but most of all, to overcome that powerful destructive force, the inner critic who whispers to us about our greatest fears.

Elena is a fighter, a survivor — but never a victim. This is an inside view of her life-and-death struggle with anorexia nervosa: what she once called “the good girl’s suicide.”

This is a powerful and eye-opening story about a difficult journey.

claredunkle.com
chroniclebooks.com

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Source: This review is based on my own copy, purchased via Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison

Fantasy, Fiction Review 0

goblin_emperor_largeThe Goblin Emperor

by Katherine Addison

Tor Fantasy, New York, 2014. 502 pages.

This is the sort of book that usually gets me telling people I don’t particularly like fantasy written for adults — so much detail in the world-building! So many strange names and strange cultural facts! So much strangeness in names and terminology!

However, unlike some others which I won’t name, Katherine Addison won me over completely with her story, despite the abundant detail. I found myself completely caring about the protagonist and even about his detailed choices — which at first I’d been impatient about.

Maia is the half-goblin fourth son of the elven emperor. His father is ashamed of him — he looks far too much like his goblin mother. He only met his father at his mother’s funeral, when Maia was 8 years old, and then was sent back into exile, accompanied only by a tutor who was also in exile and unhappy about that.

But then the emperor and his three oldest sons are all in an airship crash. Maia must come to the capital city immediately and take the throne.

This book is the story of an 18-year-old young man with no training for leadership being suddenly exalted to the position of emperor. He must learn how to rule and how to navigate the court and the halls of power. As well as wanting to stay alive.

Maia doesn’t even know how to dance or ride a horse. Can he get himself crowned, investigate his father’s death, choose an empress, rule the country — and stay alive while he’s doing it?

Despite my original prejudices, this ended up being an absorbing and engaging story.

katherineaddison.com
tor.com

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Source: This review is based on a book I got at ALA Annual Conference, signed by the author.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Sonderling Sunday – Headlines!

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Sort of a Traveler’s Phrasebook for Very Silly People.

Sonderlinge3

This week, I’m back to the book that inspired Sonderling Sunday, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, the most Sonder book of them all, Der Orden der seltsamen Sonderlinge.

This is my first week back after two and a half weeks of vacation on the west coast (which was great!), so once again I’ll have to keep it short. But there’s enough time for a little fun.

Last time I left off on page 234 in the English edition, Seite 295 auf Deutsch. I am in the middle of Chapter 18.

The first sentence I had to look up in German reveals no surprise I didn’t understand it:
Sir Alasdair übte oben auf seinem Urk-ack.
= “Sir Alasdair was practicing his urk-ack upstairs.”

“stopped hammering, drilling, and sawing” = aufhörten zu hämmern, zu bohren oder zu sägen

Don’t you want to know how to say this?
“the mellow tones of the urk-ack”
= die sanften Töne des Urk-ack

I still like long German words:
“pounded up and down”
= hinauf- und hinunterpolterten

“Inconvenience” = Ärgernis

This doesn’t sound like what it means:
“comfortable silence” = behagliches Schweigen

“often distracted” = häufig abgelenkt

“cot” = Pritsche

I’m not sure why this place-name was translated this way:
“Snoodsbottom” = Bilgental

“the important thing” = die Entscheidende

Here’s a good one!
“hopping mad” = fuchsteufelswild

“Girl Scout” = Pfadfinderin (“pathfinder girl”)

“brawl” = herumprügele

Another good phrase to know:
“That all sounds grand” = Das klingt alles ganz großartig

“bravely” = tapfer

“etiquette” = Verhaltensregeln (“behavior-rules”)

And I like how this sounds:
“Aunt Lily raised an eyebrow.”
= Tante Lily hob die Brauen.

And I have to list how the alliterative headlines were translated:

“ELDERLY ELDRITCH EXILES EXONERATED!
EXUBERANT EX-EXPATRIATES EXULT!”
= EXIL ENDLICH EXTERMINIERT!
VERGNÜGT VERBANNTE!

“MAGNANIMOUS MAYOR MAKES MERCIFUL MOTION
MANDATING MURDER MATTER MENDED!”
= BARMHERZIGER BÜRGERMEISTER BEENDET BANN
MORDVORWURF MAKULATUR

“STRIKE FORCE STEADFASTLY SCORNED SURRENDER TO
SILENT SISTERS, SUBSEQUENTLY SUFFERED SEVERE SANCTION,
SENTENCE SINCE SUSPENDED.”
= STREITMACHT VERHÖHNT STUMME SCHWESTERN
ANSCHLIESSEND ABER ABGEFAHRENER ÄRGER
SANKTIONEN SEITDEM SUSPENDIERT
(Not bad.)

That’s all I have time for tonight! But it’s good to be back! I am häufig abgelenkt, but die Entscheidende is to get back to it!

Review of The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, by Julie Berry

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Mystery, Starred Review 0

scandalous_sisterhood_largeThe Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place

by Julie Berry
read by Jayne Entwistle

Listening Library, 2014. 9.5 hours on 8 CDs.
Starred Review
2015 Odyssey Honor Audiobook

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place are the students at a girls’ Victorian boarding school in Ely, England, St. Etheldreda’s School for Young Ladies.

Right at the start of the book, the girls’ awful headmistress suddenly dies, as does her odious brother. The girls don’t want to be sent home! Smooth Kitty forms a plan. They will carry on as if nothing has happened. Stout Alice is an aspiring actress, so she can impersonate Mrs. Plackett when visitors come to the door. Pocked Louise is a budding scientist, so she can determine if poison was used. Dour Eleanor can be in charge of burying the bodies in the vegetable garden, and Disgraceful Mary Jane can distract any men who come around. Dear Roberta and Dull Martha have parts to play as well.

There’s one problem: What will the murderer do if their plan didn’t work the first time? Will they be convinced Stout Alice is in fact Mrs. Plackett and try again to kill her?

This is a delightful book about girls caught in a difficult situation who come up with questionable ideas for dealing with it.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of Ely with the cathedral looming, as I have been there and that’s what I remember.

Naturally enough, it reminded me of Summer of the Gypsy Moths in that both books begin with girls burying a body and trying to convince others that nothing has happened. The Sisters of Prickwillow Place have the advantage of there being seven of them. Can they work together to be able to stay together?

This is a murder mystery with a Victorian atmosphere. I listened to the book, and the narrator is wonderful, using a distinct voice for each character, and all with an English accent which of course makes for delightful listening.

The trailer is wonderful and gives you the flavor of the book.

julieberrybooks.com
listeninglibrary.com

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Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

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