Review of Darth Paper Strikes Back, by Tom Angleberger

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Humorous, Starred Review 2

Darth Paper Strikes Back

by Tom Angleberger

Amulet Books, New York, 2011. 159 pages.
Starred Review

Darth Paper Strikes Back is, naturally, the sequel to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. Both books are fabulous middle school reading. I so wish I could ever find them on the shelves of the library, because there are many customers I would recommend them to — but so far, they are always checked out.

The first book covers Tommy’s sixth grade year, where he gets surprisingly wise advice from Origami Yoda, a finger puppet manipulated by a really weird kid called Dwight. The advice solves all kinds of problems and is far too wise for Dwight to have made up on his own. But all along, there was a skeptic, a kid named Harvey who scoffed at everyone else’s belief in Origami Yoda.

On the first day of seventh grade, Harvey shows up with an origami finger puppet of Darth Vader. And Harvey does Vader’s voice much better than Dwight has ever done Yoda’s voice. And then things get bad for Dwight.

Tommy explains the scenario at the beginning of his latest “case file”:

“The bad news is that this year Origami Yoda’s up against the destructive force of Darth Paper, and can’t seem to handle it.

“It has all gone wrong since that first day. Now it’s October and Darth Paper has pretty much destroyed all the good Origami Yoda did last year. Now the girls don’t like us. The teachers don’t like us. Some of us don’t even like each other….

“But it’s been worse for Dwight. He’s been suspended from school, and the school board is going to decide if he should get sent to CREF — the Correctional and Remedial Education Facility — the school where they send the really, really bad kids, which Dwight isn’t. Amy’s older brother said the toughest, meanest, nastiest guy in his class was sent there . . . and got beat up! It’s kind of like Jabba’s palace, except without the alien rock band.

“This would be the ultimate defeat for Origami Yoda! And we think that Darth Paper is behind it. I just find it hard to believe that even Darth Paper/Harvey could be so evil!”

Tommy’s case file consists of telling about the good influences Origami Yoda has already had this year, the good advice he’s given, the situations he’s saved. I love the way these are real middle school concerns — like a game to play when they take video games off the library computers, helping Lance to decide which class to take, a way to clean up on the school popcorn sale, and even telling Murky the secret origins of Yoda that are not revealed in the movies. And, yes, there’s a return of Mr. Good Clean Fun and Soapy the Monkey, but this time he’s encouraging participation in the popcorn sale, rather than teaching them to wash their hands. (You see, the background situation of the middle school has some wonderful humor, too.)

Now, I was halfway through the book, wistfully thinking of how in the first book, the kids learned through the adventures that Dwight was a pretty great person after all. But in this book, Harvey just seemed bad clear through. I also thought it pretty unrealistic that a school board would listen to a bunch of students about a disciplinary matter, so Tommy’s whole case file seemed awfully misguided and unrealistic.

Then I read the ending, and I will just say that Tom Angleberger nailed it! Best of all, we’ve got a picture of Yoda at the back, promising “The End… This is Not!”

Did I mention that, like the Wimpy Kid books, this book has cartoons throughout? Personally, I like these books better. They feel more good-hearted to me. Sure, Harvey’s mean, but there’s not much bullying going on, and these seem like genuine middle school kids with middle school concerns. So I really hope our library will get more copies before long, so I can direct those who like the Wimpy Kid books to turn to Origami Yoda next. Now, admittedly, people familiar with Star Wars will enjoy it a lot more. I could be wrong, but isn’t that pretty much all middle school kids?

origamiyoda.com
amuletbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/darth_paper_strikes_back.html

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 the Fairfax County Public Library.

Another Blog Series! Top 100 Authors, Illustrators, and Picture Book Authors, Oh My!

General, Top 100 Writers and Illustrators 0

Yes, I’m going to start another blog series.

I know, I know, you are right to be skeptical. Let’s see, besides 54 reviews I want to post, the blog series I currently have going are:

Sonderling Sunday
Conference Corner
Sondy’s Selections
Librarians Help

And, yes, I intended for most of those to be weekly series….

So now I want to start a series that will have 300 entries! Will it ever end? Will it even get off the ground?

Here’s the deal. When Betsy Bird of School Library Journal’s Fuse #8 blog decided to run another Top 100 Chapter Books and Top 100 Picture Books Poll, she put out a call for volunteers to help tally the results. Since I love spreadsheets and counting things and detail work, I quickly sent a “Pick Me! Pick Me!” e-mail. Now, mind you, I wasn’t content to only total the results of the top 100 books. It struck me as unfair that certain authors like Dr. Seuss with a wide body of work and no clear favorite would suffer in the standings. So I also tallied up the top chapter books authors, picture book authors, and picture book illustrators.

Betsy has graciously told me I can post this data on my own blog. I was thinking I’d just blast the info out there this weekend.

But then I got to thinking. Perhaps it’s because I’m feeling dead tired, still jetlagged from my trip to California less than a week ago. The thought of posting 300 names is simply daunting.

And, after all… why should I post all of them at once? Between you and me, the ONLY thing I didn’t like about Betsy’s posts was I couldn’t keep up. I was at ALA Annual Conference and on vacation when the big dramatic reveal of the highest numbers happened. I still haven’t read all the posts. (Though I assure you, I will.)

Personally, I’m not in a hurry to post about them. It would actually be quite fun to focus on one name at a time. I can link to all of Betsy’s posts about books by each person, link to my own reviews of any books by each person, throw in some of my own anecdotes, and end up with a very very long-running blog series out of it. Since it may be years before I get to the end, I will also start at the top with the Number One names, and then just go as long as I feel like it.

So — keep watching and I will post about the #1 Chapter Book Author very soon!

Review of Gold, by Chris Cleave

Contemporary, Fiction Review, General, Literary, Starred Review 0

Gold

by Chris Cleave

Simon & Schuster, New York, July 2012. 326 pages.
Starred Review

Gold is perfect reading for before, during, and after the Olympic games. It’s a story of a long-time rivalry between Zoe and Kate, the two best women’s cyclists in the world, good friends both on the United Kingdom team. They were first scheduled to compete against each other in the 2004 games, then in 2008, but something happened each time so only one got the Gold. Now the 2012 games are approaching, and both are at the top of their form.

We learn their story as we follow the build-up to the Olympics. Their rivalry isn’t only on the track, and each have their own motivations, their own insecurities, their own inner demons. There’s also a little girl in their lives who has leukemia. They thought it was in remission, and little Sophie doesn’t want anyone to know when she’s feeling bad. But that’s not always a good idea.

I laughed that Sophie is absorbed with Star Wars and uses Star Wars to fight her leukemia, because in Little Bee Chris Cleave had a child who lived in his Batman costume. Super heroes and story do have a way of helping those who are powerless feel much more powerful.

Here’s Sophie thinking about her family:

She leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes. That half a minute of talking with Ruby had wiped her out. It was good, though. Mum had seen it. Dad had seen it. That counted for an hour when they wouldn’t worry. After that she knew she would start to see the lines creeping back into their faces, and hear the sharp edge coming back into their voices, and notice the little sideways glances they shot at her while they pretended they weren’t looking. They would start to have arguments with each other, about stupid things like training hours and long-grain rice, and they wouldn’t even know why they were doing it. She would know, though. It meant that they were scared for her all over again, and she would have to do one of the things that made them forget it for another hour.

If you were in the car, you could kick the back of the seat. That made them annoyed, which was the opposite of scared. If you were in the house, you had more choices. You could answer back or be lippy, which made you seem less ill. You could do a drawing. You could hurry up the stairs and make a lot of noise so they noticed you doing it, even if you had to lie down on your bed afterwards for ten minutes. You could make it look like you’d eaten all your toast, even if you had to post it down your T-shirt and flush it in the toilet later. You could play boys’ games like Star Wars that had fighting and spaceships and made you look tough, even if you weren’t tough enough to ride a bike.

This book didn’t feel as momentous and weighty as Little Bee, but that’s a good thing. I’m not sure I could have handled that big an emotional punch. It was still a powerful book, and I definitely found myself thinking about it long after reading it. Gold explores motivation, competition, friendship, the search for excellence, and what makes a family. It definitely put me in the mood for the Olympic Games this year.

chriscleave.com
simonandschuster.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/gold.html

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 an Advance Reading Copy I got at ALA Midwinter Meeting.

Conference Corner – 2012 Printz Program and Reception

Conference Corner 0

2012 ALA Annual Conference is done, and I have lots of notes to share! Since I’m way behind on writing up my notes from Midwinter and from PLA, I decided to work backwards. When I finally get to notes I’ve already shared I’ll be done. The goal will be to post at least one Conference Corner post each week, but maybe I can do better. I’d like to catch up before KidLitCon in the Fall or maybe the Horn Book at Simmons symposium or maybe VLA Conference. (Now that my son will be in college, there are so many possibilities!)

The final event for me at ALA Annual Conference this year was the Printz Awards Reception. I always love the Printz speeches. I love it that everyone gives a speech, honor winners and the big honcho award winner. They always make sure to say nice things about libraries and librarians, so their words are treasured.

The night began, not surprisingly seeing who got the Honor award, with comedy. Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman gave a speech together thanking us for the Honor for Why We Broke Up.

Then Daniel Handler played the accordion and sang “Without Libraries We’d be Dum,” with special effects by Maira Kalman. This is worth experiencing!

I got a picture with Daniel Handler at the reception. He seemed pleased that he got it to come out looking like someone had pasted him in. (Maybe I did?)

Next Honor winner was Christine Hinwood for The Returning. She told a great story of finding out she’d won an Honor. She had been without internet access and found out on a train. She said she broke all the rules of British train riding and danced down the aisle.

She said, “Teenagers are people, too.” She writes for people.

She also spoke up for the power of fantasy novels. “The fantasy books she read as a child are not childish.” “Fantasy allows exploring issues. . . without baggage.”

The Returning explores issues about war. How do combatants go back to family and a day job once the war is over? So many are affected by war for so long after the war is over.

Craig Silvey was the next speaker, honored for his book Jasper Jones.

I got a picture with him. He has an adorable Australian accent. He said that YALSA has been “absurdly kind to Australians” in their award choices. Many of us firmly believe it’s to get to hear their accents at the Printz Program.

(Oh look! I think that’s Christine Hinwood right behind me.)

Craig Silvey was quite ill when the Printz call came. He “let it ring out” twice, but finally answered this persistent caller. In his brain-addled state, his first thought was, “Oh my goodness. I’ve been honored by Prince.?” Fortunately, the committee gave him more information before he could follow up on this thought.

Like so many Printz Honorees, he talked about growing up in the library. I liked this line about reading fiction: “The truth, I found, was hidden in the lies.”

He talked about accidentally checking out A Clockwork Orange when he was ten years old. “I learned a very valuable lesson: Stories were powerful.”

Next up was Maggie Stiefvater, honored for the book I loved so much, The Scorpio Races.

Maggie Stiefvater also talked about the power of Fantasy. She began with a reading from Diana Wynne-Jones. 10-year-old Maggie thought the food described was wonderful. And yet it didn’t exist. It was imaginary.

For a truly great book, Maggie Stiefvater wants a book with another world inside it.

What makes us believe in a place? Diana Wynne-Jones showed the symptoms of a culture. It was the little things.

“Thisby is a big place made of tiny little sensations.”

Last of all was the acceptance speech from Printz Award Winner John Corey Whaley, still incredibly cute and still incredibly young.

He, also, had some great things to say about books, reading, teens, and libraries.

“You connect teens to worlds beyond their imaginations.”

John Corey Whaley found the story he was supposed to tell. “Listen closely when you open the book and you may hear the faintest sound of banjos.”

His book asks the question: “Is it possible to grow up in an impossible world?”

Talking about writing, he said, “Don’t we all want to make some dent in the side of the world?”

“Teens want the truth about everything, and they know exactly when they aren’t getting it.”

And he closed off with a rallying cry for libraries:

“Close our libraries, and you close our lives.”

“Tweet this: #SaveALibrary”

Review of Bunheads, by Sophie Flack

Contemporary, Teen Fiction Review 0

Bunheads

by Sophie Flack

Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2011. 294 pages.

This book begins:

“My name is Hannah Ward. Don’t call me a ballerina.

“Ballerinas are the stars of the company. They dance center stage under the spotlight, and they get their own curtain calls. Their head shots are printed in the program, with their names in large print. Me, I’m a dancer in the corps de ballet, just one of the dozens of girls who dance in graceful unison each night. My mother thinks I’m a star, but she’s biased.”

Hannah Ward is 19 and a member of the prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company. She’d like to be promoted to soloist, but that will mean around-the-clock hard work, as well as competition with her friends, the other members of the corps. She’s lived in New York City since she was 14, when she went to the Manhattan Ballet Academy. She’s living her dream; is it worth it?

Hannah’s happy with her lot until she meets Jacob, a non-dancer and a student at NYU. He seems to think that if she likes him, she should be able to spare some time with him. But ballet is her life, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?

Novels that question what a person wants out of life are always absorbing. This one provides an authentic look into the world of ballet, making it all the more interesting. I didn’t like the present tense narration, but that’s a personal quibble. The plot seemed a little spotty, with Hannah going through waves of determination to get a promotion, followed by periods where it didn’t seem so important, but I’m sure that’s how it would be in real life, even if it didn’t make as strong a plot arc.

I never took a ballet class and still enjoyed this book. I imagine that any teen who ever took a ballet class will particularly enjoy it.

lbchildrens.com
pickapoppy.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/bunheads.html

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 an Advance Reader Copy I got from the publisher.

ALA Annual Conference 2012 Summary

Conference Corner 0

ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim has finished up! I’m now sitting at my sister’s house, with vacation time for the rest of the week (Yay!), so I’m not sure how much I’ll post before I go home. Eventually, I’d like to give detailed notes for each event in my Conference Corner posts. But here, I’ll sum up the things I did.

It all began Friday. I made it to the Opening Session with Rebecca MacKinnon, a fascinating look at how we need to take a careful look at Internet Security and how it applies to human freedom and privacy, or lack thereof, around the world. I got a copy of her book, Consent of the Networked, and got it signed.

Then: The Exhibits. By waiting in line to get my book signed, I had missed the wild “Running of the Librarians” and some of the crazy book-grabbing frenzy that invades our minds at this time. As such, I was able to restrain myself to one suitcase full of books. (Yes, folks, I have a medical excuse. Get over it!)

Here’s a picture of my loot at the end of the conference, combined with my sister’s loot from a one-day exhibit pass. Hers is only one pile. I believe my total at the end was 68 books. (This is huge progress. I think at my first ALA, I came home with twice that many.)

On Saturday, I gave my sister (with whom I was staying) an exhibits day pass and a ticket to meet me at the Margaret A. Edwards Luncheon, but I went on ahead to visit the exhibits (more loot) and then hear a session on Putting Laughter in Literacy with Alan Sitomer and Raina Telgemeier. Alas! Sara Pennypacker, who was also to speak, was held up by a cancelled flight. Then came the Margaret Edwards Luncheon. I stood in line with Garth Nix! (squee!) And then, already having chosen seats at a table, Susan Patron sat down next to me, so we got to talk during the lunch! (squee! squee!) Pictures will definitely follow.

Saturday afternoon included very valuable sessions on Implementing Every Child Ready to Read 2 and then “Traveling the Spectrum: From Interstellar Adventures to Epic Fantasy, the influence of Science Fiction and Fantasy on the world today. This featured the stellar speakers Blake Charlton, Lois Bujold, and George R. R. Martin, so was excellent! Alas, had I but known, those who got a goodie bag of books by the authors had to stand in line for an hour ahead of time.

Afterward, I had the good luck to run into my co-worker from Fairfax County, so we had dinner together. I had an invitation to a publisher dessert at 9 pm, but I was way too tired by then, and went back to my sister’s house.

Sunday I did get there earlier, and caught the speaker Dan Ariely talking about interesting things he learned in researching his book: The Honest Truth About Dishonesty. Afterward, I got the book signed and hit the exhibits. For the 10:30 session, I got to hear my co-members of ALSC’s Children and Technology Committee speak on using apps in public and school libraries, and then got to have lunch with two of them afterward. After lunch, I attended an information-packed session on getting information out of the 1940 US Census. That information is going to be highly valuable to me when I sub in the Virginia Room. Then it was back to my sister’s to change for the Newbery Banquet.

The Newbery Banquet was, of course, a highlight of the whole conference experience. Chris Raschka spoke about art and memory. Jack Gantos had us roaring with laughter. And we were in a crowd of people who love children’s books.

The final day, for me at least, was Monday. This time I managed to get up early enough for the first session: The Digital Lives of Tweens and Teens. Interesting facts about the current group of 10- to 14-year-olds and how these facts impact the way we should serve them.

Then I was going to go to the session on crossover adult/YA books, but it was way too crowded, so I went to the ALSC awards, where the Siebert, the Batchelder, and the Geisel Awards were given, followed by an ALSC member meeting.

Finally, I hit the closing of the exhibits. It was probably a good thing that they had already wound down almost completely, though I was still able to get a copy of Siebert Honor book Witches signed by the author. Then the plan was to go back to my sister’s, but I had locked my keys in the trunk! (Urgh!)

However, after I called the rental car company and they told me it would cost $57, I went to get something to eat and saw my Triple A card. I was able to get it put on my AAA card instead of the rental car company. And, even better, the tow truck driver was so nice, he made me happy to have locked my key in the trunk because it gave me the opportunity to have my day brightened.

Back at my sister’s, I had enough time for a nap before the Printz Awards. All the Printz Award and Honor speakers were stellar, but Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman started it off with a rousing chorus of his song on the accordion, “Without Libraries We’d Be Dumb.” I was a little hurt today to discover he had not actually composed it as a Printz Honor speech, but I do have to share where I found the full text of his “speech” on YouTube. You must note, however, that the crowd at the Printz Award Reception was far, far more enthusiastic.

More details and notes will follow!

48-Hour Book Challenge Finish Line

48-Hour Book Challenge 0

No, I didn’t get nearly as much done as I hoped, or as I did last year. But, hey, with a headache and dizziness, this is still quite good. And it was definitely still fun.

I only finished three books. But Code Name Verity was so incredibly good, it was just as well it was the only fiction book I finished. All the better to savor that way.

Here are my stats:

Total time spent on the 48HBC: 27 hours, 30 minutes
Donation to Book People Unite: $48, in honor of my turning 48 within a week of the 48-Hour Book Challenge. (Hey, seemed appropriate!)

How this was broken up:
Time spent Reading: 11 hours, 55 minutes

Books Finished:
Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein (Wow!) (343 pages read)
Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, by Lauren F. Winner (216 pages read)
Shiny Objects, by James A. Roberts (73 pages read)

Books partially read:
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, by Alexander McCall Smith, 25 pages read
The Bible, 4 pages read
Each Day a New Beginning, by Karen Casey, 2 pages read
Praying for Strangers, by River Jordan, 8 pages read
A Truth Universally Acknowledged, edited by Susannah Carson, 4 pages read
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, by Nina Sankovitch, 22 pages read
The Conundrum, by David Owen, 4 pages read
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, by Deborah Hopkinson, 26 pages read
Victory Over Verbal Abuse, by Patricia Evans, 2 pages read
The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, 13 pages read
Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, 16 pages read

Total pages read: 758

Time spent Listening: 3 hours, 25 minutes
Audiobook listened to: Sing You Home, by Jodi Picoult

Time spent Networking (mostly Twitter and Facebook): 1 hour, 30 minutes

Time spent Blogging: 10 hours, 40 minutes (counting only until 11:30)

Books Reviewed: Still, Shiny Objects, Code Name Verity (All the books I finished, so that goal, at least, was reached.)
Reviews Posted: The One and Only Ivan, Still, North of Beautiful, Code Name Verity

Other Blog Posts:
Two for Sonderjourneys
Three for Sonderquotes
Sonderling Sunday
Two about the 48-Hour Book Challenge (Not counting this one, written after the ending time)

Total words written: 5,778

So, it looks like I will need to turn in lots and lots of books if I want to go to California in a couple weeks without holding onto library books I haven’t read. We shall see!

Now, I admit I wish I hadn’t had a headache the whole weekend. But if I had to have a headache, it was definitely nice to be distracted. I’m counting this a success!

Review of Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

Adventure, Historical, Starred Review, Suspense, Teen Fiction Review 0

Code Name Verity

by Elizabeth Wein

Hyperion, New York, 2012. 343 pages.
Starred Review

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. For me, this is the Year of Escalating Greatness. For the Newbery: First I read Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, and hoped it would win. Then I read The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, and hoped it would win. Then I read Summer of the Gypsy Moths, by Sara Pennypacker, and hoped it would win. Recently, I read Palace of Stone, by Shannon Hale, and now I’m hoping it will win.

For the Printz Award, it hasn’t been so drawn out. I read The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, and was sure I’d found the book I want to win next year’s award. But now I’ve read Code Name Verity. I simply can’t imagine another book surpassing this one this year.

(Mind you, I want all my past favorites to win Honor, and won’t even be too upset if they end up taking the prize. But wow, this book is good!)

I already was a big fan of Elizabeth Wein. I’ve read all of her Aksum books, set in old Africa, and knew that her writing is something special. But I wondered about a book set during World War II. That seemed something altogether different.

And this book is different. There’s still the flavor of her wonderful storytelling ability, but the story, set in France and England during World War II, is nothing like ancient Africa. But every single bit as compelling.

Here’s how the book begins:

I AM A COWARD.

I wanted to be heroic and I pretended I was. I have always been good at pretending. I spent the first twelve years of my life playing at the Battle of Stirling Bridge with my five big brothers — and even though I am a girl, they let me be William Wallace, who is supposed to be one of our ancestors, because I did the most rousing battle speeches. God, I tried hard last week. My God, I tried. But now I know I am a coward. After the ridiculous deal I made with SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden, I know I am a coward. And I’m going to give you anything you ask, everything I can remember. Absolutely Every Last Detail.

Here is the deal we made. I’m putting it down to keep it straight in my own mind. “Let’s try this,” the Hauptsturmführer said to me. “How could you be bribed?” And I said I wanted my clothes back.

It seems petty, now. I am sure he was expecting my answer to be something defiant — “Give me Freedom” or “Victory” — or something generous, like “Stop toying with that wretched French Resistance laddie and give him a dignified and merciful death.” Or at leaszt something more directly connected to my present circumstance, like “Please let me go to sleep” or “Feed me” or “Get rid of this sodding iron rail you have kept tied against my spine for the past three days.” But I was prepared to go sleepless and starving and upright for a good while yet if only I didn’t have to do it in my underwear — rather foul and damp at times, and SO EMBARRASSING. The warmth and dignity of my flannel skirt and woolly sweater are worth far more to me now than patriotism or integrity.

Queenie, which is what she calls herself in the narrative, draws things out. She tells the story of how she entered the war effort, but she tells it from the perspective of her best friend, Maddie Brodatt. Maddie is the pilot who crash landed the plane that brought Queenie into France after Queenie parachuted out of it. They have shown Queenie pictures of the burned plane and ruined cockpit.

Now, the reader has to wonder how much truth Queenie is giving the Nazis in this narrative, being read immediately by them. But the reader never doubts her firm and unquenching affection for Maddie, the girl who loved to fly. Maddie gets more and more opportunities in a men’s world, culminating in the chance to fly Queenie into France. Too bad it ended in a crash and a capture.

I don’t want to say one bit more about the book’s plot except that I am reminded of something Megan Whalen Turner said when she was speaking at the Horn Book-Simmons Colloquium. She said that she feels she has failed if her readers read her books only once.

With Code Name Verity I honestly caught something in the section I just quoted to you that had gone right by me the first time around. I am absolutely going to be rereading this book very soon to see the many, many things that I will look at differently the second time around.

Wow! All right, already! Just read it!

elizabethwein.com
un-requiredreading.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/code_name_verity.html

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 my own book, ordered from Amazon.com

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 8 – Eldritch City At Last!

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, loosely translated as “Nerdy Sonntag.” I hasten to add that you definitely do not need to be a German speaker to enjoy this series. Indeed, I wouldn’t really call myself a German speaker. This series is, quite simply, for people who love words. In it, I look at Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge and compare it with its original English version, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, to discover some bizarre and fun things about German and English and different ways of thinking about things and different combinations of wonderful sounds.

We are on Chapter Eight, which begins on page 65 in the English version and Seite 84 in the German. This is a long chapter, so I’m going to go straight to focusing on the most interesting sentences and phrases.

On the first page a fun one comes:
“Crashing into the ocean” = in den Ozean zu plumpsen

“pretty dull afterlife” = Ein ziemlich trübseliges Leben nach dem Tod (Google translates that as “a rather dreary life after death.”)

“The plane was destroyed, its hull torn and flooded with black, swirling seawater.” = Das Flugzeug war zerstört; der Rumpf war zerfetzt und von schäumendem schwarzem Meerwasser überflutet.

Just to clarify, here Rumpf is “hull”; zerfetzt is “torn,” and schäumendem is “swirling.”

This one is evocative:
“oily murk” = ölige Brühe (Be sure to put lots of “oo” and “ew” in those vowels.)

“floated” = herumdümpelten (“bobbed about”)

“waterlogged” = aufgeweichte (Google just translates this “softened.” Ewww.)

“soaked” = durchnässt (“through-wetted”)

“gash” = klaffenden Riss (“gaping cracks”)

“slimier” = irgendwie schleimiger und glitschiger (Google: “Somewhat slimier and slipperier” – I suspect we have a little elaboration here.)

I like this sentence. Perhaps some insight on where the word “wade” came from, not to mention “slimy”?
“Soon they were all wading in the slimy water.” = Kurz darauf wateten sie alle durch das schleimige Wasser.
Now, “slimy” sounds slimy. But schleimige?! You can almost feel it clinging to you.

“squishy” = matschig

More exquisite disgustingness:
“spilling juices” = aus denen Flüssigkeiten sickerten (“from which liquids leaked”)

For once the German is shorter:
“whoop of delight” = Jubelschrei (Now there’s a good name for a band.)

“treacherous goo” = verräterische Brühe

“rhapsodized” = schwärmte

Okay, say this a few times, just to savor the sounds:
“an enormous mucilaginous gorge” = eine gewaltige, schleimige Schlucht
(Has it struck you, like me, that English has more different words than German for the concept of “slimy”? But you have to give them that the one German word is really good.)

This paragraph is too fun in English not to mention:

“Wonders upon wonders!” said Colonel Korsakov. “I don’t recall eating a small law firm.”

Auf Deutsch:

»Wunder über Wunder!«, erklärte Oberst Korsakov. »Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, eine Anwaltskanzlei gegessen zu haben.«

“with a shiver” = dann fröstelnd ab

“Its crumbling bricks were crabbed with gray, sickly ivy, and cold thin mist twisted around.” = Die verfallenen Steine waren von krausem widerlichem Efeu überzogen und ein kalter, dünner Nebel wirbelte um das Haus.

“yellowed books” = vergilbten Büchern

“crumbling maps” = zerbröselnden Karten

“shattered chandelier” = zerborstener Kronleuchter (“burst crown-lights”)

“gangly” = schlaksig

Oh this is good:
“freckled” = Sommersprossen (“summer sprouts”)

Longest word candidate (19 letters):
“squinted at his visitors” = musterte seine Besucher aus zusammengekniffenen Augen (“looked at his visitors with together-narrowed eyes”)

“whimsical tomfoolery” = wunderlichen Albernheiten

“bony” = knorrige

“snug” = kuschelig Ah! “cushy”!

“puzzlement” = Verblüffung (I think I’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s so good.)

“jars” = Einmachgläsern

“floating” = schwammen

“stunned” = verblüfft

“violence” = Neigung zur Gewalttätigkeit (“inclination to violence”)

“questionable” = Fragwürdiges (“question worthy”)

This phrase is nice in German:
“Just the opposite” = Ganz in Gegenteil

A simple one that’s just fun to say:
“wondered” = nachgedacht (“thought after”)

Nice and alliterative:
“shook again” = erbebte erneut (“quaked anew”)

“Grunting, sweating, shouting” = Grunzend, schwitzend und brüllend

“sunset” = Sonnenuntergang (“sun downfall”)

“foaming river” = von Gischt schäumenden Fluss (“with spray foaming river”)

“booming and trumpeting” = mit viel Tamtam und Tschingderassa

“We would be run out of town.” = Wir würden geteert und gefedert aus der Stadt geworfen. (“We would be tarred and feathered and thrown out of the city.”)

“divert” = ablenken

“handlebar mustache” = Schnauzbart

“heave” = Kraftakt (“might act”)

“The applause outside was tremendous.” = Der Applaus war ohrenbetäubend. (“The applause was ear-numbing.”)

An even longer word, right at the end of the chapter:
“the screech of grinding metal, laughter and carousing” = das Kreischen von aneinanderschabendem Metall, Gelächter und Freudenschreie (“the screech of on-one-another-scraping metal, laughter and joy-cries”)

Very evocative:
“stuff myself” = mich vollzustopfen

And finally, even more “Sonder” than in the title:
“The Grand Feast of the Odd-Fish” = Das gro?e Fest der Sonderbaren Sonderlinge (“The grand feast of the “special” “special ones”.)

Summing up:

Longest word: aneinanderschabendem

Most improved translation: “an enormous mucilaginous gorge” = eine gewaltige, schleimige Schlucht

Most disgusting translation: Tie between schleimiger und glitschiger and ölige Brühe

Most onomatopoetic: plumpsen

Best name for a band: Jubelschrei

Best image: “freckles” = Sommersprossen

Most alliterative translation: Ganz in Gegenteil

Now then, wasn’t that fun? And a delightful way to spend my time in the 48-Hour Book Challenge. Definitely book-related. Tune in next week as we explore Das gro?e Fest der Sonderbaren Sonderlinge!

Review of North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley

Contemporary, Romance, Teen Fiction Review 0

North of Beautiful

by Justina Chen Headley

Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2009. 373 pages.

I read this book on the flight home from KidLitCon 2011, having just heard the author speak as part of an insightful and thought-provoking panel on diversity, and having gotten the book signed. In the panel, Justina Chen said that she didn’t want to get categorized as a writer who wrote only Chinese characters, so she purposely made this character blonde and classically beautiful — with one exception. Here’s how the book begins:

“Not to brag or anything, but if you saw me from behind, you’d probably think I was perfect. I’m tall, but not too tall, with a ballerina’s long legs and longish neck. My hair is naturally platinum blond, the kind that curls when I want it to and cascades behind my back in one sleek line when I don’t. While my face couldn’t launch a thousand ships, it has the power to make any stranger whip around for a second look. Trust me, this mixture of curiosity and revulsion is nothing Helen of Troy would ever have encountered.

“Please don’t get me wrong; I’ve got all the requisite parts — and in all the right numbers, too: one nose, two eyes, and twenty-four teeth that add up to not a bad smile. But who notices pearly whites when a red-stained birthmark stretches across the broad plain of my right cheek? That’s exactly why I never went anywhere without my usual geologic strata of moisturizer, sunblock, medical concealer, foundation, and powder.”

Terra Rose Cooper is named after mapping terms and has a fascination for maps, like her father, the famous cartographer. She’s got a good-looking boyfriend who’s on the wrestling team, but she’s not sure he even really sees her or cares about her more than for sleeping with her. An interfering visiting professor puts a brochure in her hands about a new technique that could eliminate her birthmark. Should she try it?

Her Dad has said he won’t spend another penny on her face. She’d already tried so many things that didn’t work. She never even gets a chance to talk with her boyfriend about it. She does it during Christmas Break, so no one will see her while she’s healing.

But then, driving back from the first procedure with her mother (without telling her father), her car slides on black ice and she has an accident. She almost hits a boy about her age, dressed all in black. That boy, Jacob, has a scar on his own face. He was born in China with a cleft palate and was adopted by his mother Norah (who owns the car she hit) and brought to America.

Meanwhile, Terra’s applying for early entrance to college. She wants to escape from her family, and her emotionally abusive father, as her older brothers have done. One of them moved to China, and he sends tickets to Terra and her mother, telling them to come visit. Terra doesn’t think her mother would ever be brave enough.

One thing leads to another. After Norah and Jacob drive Terra and her mother home, Norah and Terra’s mother hit it off. So Terra sees more of Jacob. Then Norah talks them into traveling to China together, where Terra’s going to see much more of Jacob. But what about her boyfriend?

This book is full of mapping metaphors and symbolism — almost too many. Terra is an artist, who works with collages and employs many map fragments and symbols. She’s working on a “Beauty Map” about what the world thinks is beautiful. Jacob teaches her to geocache, which of course involves more navigational terms. Her Dad is presented as a famous cartographer whose career was ruined when he supported a map alleged to be by a Chinese navigator who discovered America before Columbus. That map was later proved to be a fraud, and that destroyed her father’s career and is why he moved to a town in the middle of nowhere.

That didn’t ring quite true for me. I wasn’t sure what kind of job a cartographer would even find in an isolated town. And how could something like that mess up his career? But then I was really brought up short by this paragraph:

“Dad’s work was purely high-tech, coding the software for global positioning systems, first for the military back in the eighties and then spinning off to do consulting work for software mapping companies.”

That didn’t ring true for me at all, because my Dad was instrumental in developing software for global positioning systems way before the eighties. And he is no cartographer; he’s an engineer. I’m sure that cartographers use GPS now that it’s been developed, but when my Dad first worked with satellite navigation, they were mostly used on ships, not by mapmakers. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure cartographers didn’t have much to do with developing the software for global positioning systems.

But that’s a piddly detail that I wouldn’t expect anyone else to notice. The author’s story did give us an explanation for why Terra’s Dad was so bitter and resentful and abusive, and especially angry at China. She was pretty vague about what the father actually did, so it felt just a little bit of a clunky way of pulling the map metaphor into the plot.

However, I have to say that the metaphor worked well. After all, Terra was thinking about her life’s path and what constitutes True Beauty.

And by the time I finished, I was impressed by how it was all woven together. It’s tricky to write a good story of someone dealing with emotional abuse, and this one pulled it off well. It’s not only Terra who’s learning to respect herself and stand up for herself; we also see her Mom coming into her own, especially on the China trip with Norah. It happens gradually, in realistic little steps. And it doesn’t end with a neat tie-up. We see that progress has been made, and things could go either way. I thought that whole aspect was masterfully done.

So this is an intriguing read, with lots to think about: true beauty, dealing with subtle emotional abuse, even sibling relationships. And the story is intriguing as well, with nicely done romance.

Buy from Amazon.com

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Source: This review is based on my own book, purchased at KidLitCon and signed by the author.