Review of Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Tom Lake

by Ann Patchett
performed by Meryl Streep

HarperAudio, 2023. 11 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written September 5, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Ann Patchett writes immersive, meditative literary novels, and this newest one has a lovely dose of joy. With Meryl Streep narrating the audiobook, listening was a complete delight.

The first thing I wondered about the book: Is Tom Lake a person or a place? The answer is that it’s a place – a lake in northern Michigan where summer stock theater would happen.

The setting of the book is Spring of 2020. The world is shutdown. Lara and her husband have no workers to bring in the harvest on their cherry farm, but their three daughters, all in their 20s, have come home, and they’re doing the picking. While they work, they demand their mother tell them, at last, about her relationship with the famous movie star Peter Duke. She dated him before she met their father, when she was playing Emily in Our Town during that long-ago summer at Tom Lake.

That maybe doesn’t sound too exciting? In practice, it ended up being mesmerizing and engaging and I ended up dreaming about it when I stopped in the middle to sleep.

Lara reflects on her life choices, on Duke’s magnetic personality, on the pivotal events that turned her life to the path she ended up taking.

Something I love about the book is that it’s told by a happy middle-aged woman. She’s feeling a little guilty how happy she is in the middle of a pandemic because she got to be surrounded by her daughters and the husband she’s loved so long. (I remember feeling a little guilty how much I loved that my kids started playing online games with me once a week during the pandemic.) Yes, she went through some things when she was young. She didn’t end up making it as an actress and Duke didn’t stay with her and went on to be wildly successful. But she’s fundamentally happy about where life has taken her, and that gives the whole book a feeling of peaceful joy.

There are some surprises in the story — things her girls didn’t know at all and the reader doesn’t expect. The sense of place is strong and makes me want to go visit a cherry orchard in Michigan, or maybe find a summer stock theater show by a lake. Completely delightful.

annpatchett.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Finding Papa, by Angela Pham Krans, illustrated by Thi Bui

Historical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Finding Papa

by Angela Pham Krans
illustrated by Thi Bui

Harper, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written March 15, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Finding Papa is a picture book based on the author’s experiences as a small child when her Papa went ahead of them from Vietnam to America, and she and her mother traveled to join him in 1983.

Something I love about the book is that it authentically takes an older toddler or young preschooler’s perspective. The pictures also portray her perfectly as that age, and it’s all presented with as much as a small child can grasp. Here’s the beginning:

Mai’s favorite game to play with Papa was the crocodile chomp. When Papa went “Chomp! Chomp!” Mai would giggle and squeal. Crocodiles were scary, but Papa was not.

We see a happy toddler laughing as her Papa makes a crocodile mouth with his hands. This is repeated through the book, with Mai remembering Papa by making her hands go “Chomp! Chomp!”

At first, she’s waiting for Papa, who doesn’t come back after an extra-long hug goodbye. Then Mai and her Mama travel to go find Papa. They travel far to get to a boat, crowded with many people. Mai was still remembering Papa, wishing he were there. There was a storm, but after some time, the boat was rescued by a large ship and Mai and her mother climbed up a net to get into the ship. At a refugee camp, letters from Papa helped them find their way to America.

In America, Mai sees a man with a mustache she doesn’t recognize. When he makes his hands do “Chomp! Chomp!” Mai remembers that crocodiles are scary, but Papa is not.

This is a very sweet story that authentically shows a very young child’s experience as a refugee. It completely warmed my heart.

angelakrans.com
thibui.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Review of Nearer My Freedom, by Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge

Biography, History, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Nearer My Freedom

The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself

by Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge

Zest Books, 2023. 216 pages.
Review written August 30, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

From the note at the back:

This book is a novel-length series of found-verse poems crafted from Olaudah Equiano’s original autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, published in March 1789.

What this means is that they took Olaudah Equiano’s written words and cut out passages — leaving behind a novel in verse.

The style for books written in 1789 was far more verbose than books written today, so the method they used renders a dense and difficult autobiography into a gripping and accessible verse novel.

Olaudah Equiano was born in Africa and kidnapped into slavery. He ended up working on British ships and eventually was able to purchase his own freedom. He continued to work on ships, but was still in danger of being enslaved again. He became an abolitionist and wrote the story of his life to further the cause.

The book begins in Africa. He and his sister were both captured at the same time. Then he traveled all over the world, both when he was enslaved and when he was free. He even went on an expedition into the Arctic hoping to find a passage to India that way. The ship was almost destroyed by ice, and they concluded the idea wouldn’t work out.

Here’s an example from when he was kidnapped:

One day when none of the grown people were nigh
two men and a woman got over our walls,
seized my dear sister and me.
No time to cry out, or make resistance.

They stopped our mouths,
and ran off with us into the woods.
They tied our hands and carried us
as far as they could, till night came.

The authors used his words, but pared it down into a modern verse novel. There are several sidebars explaining historical context. The result is a riveting and quick-reading account of what life was like as a British seafaring enslaved person in the eighteenth century.

lernerbooks.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Too Small Tola Gets Tough, by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Too Small Tola Gets Tough

by Atinuke
illustrated by Onyinye Iwu

Candlewick Press, 2023. Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2022. 89 pages.
Review written May 3, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

When I reviewed the second book about Too Small Tola, a small girl who lives in Lagos, Nigeria, I was a little critical that it made me sad that Tola’s fifteen-year-old brother had to work to keep the family from starving. But the author does make it clear that this brother hated going to school and loves being a mechanic.

This book, too, is sad. But I’ve decided that it’s a gentle way to help kids understand poverty and have compassion for people in tough situations.

In this book, the coronavirus hits. When a lockdown threatens, brother Dapo goes to stay and sleep at the garage, and sister Moji goes to stay and sleep at her principal’s home so she can continue her studies. So Tola and Grandmommy are the only ones home. Dapo plans to continue to send them money — only work at the garage slows down during the pandemic. Tola gets hungry.

A neighbor finds Tola a place where she can work as a house girl. So she can eat. (This is the sad part, to me.) Though there’s a happy ending — Tola uses math to help the wealthy owner discover he’s being cheated — and she gets to go home back to Grandmommy, with reward money.

Yes, it’s a very tough situation. But yes, Tola gets tough.

It’s all in a beginning chapter book package with three chapters and plenty of pictures. And American beginning chapter book readers can learn about an ordinary but clever girl living on the other side of the world with people who love her.

atinuke.co.uk
onyinyeiwu.com
candlewick.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 I Swear, by Katie Porter

Biography, Current Issues, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

I Swear

Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan

by Katie Porter

Crown, 2023. 284 pages.
Review written August 8, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Okay, reading Katie Porter’s book made me a Katie Porter fan, similar to the way reading Elizabeth Warren’s book years ago made me an Elizabeth Warren fan. What both women have in common? They have both studied bankruptcy and fully understand that financial trouble does not imply moral failing.

One of her early stories is of studying mortgage law — and learning that banks were breaking laws, to the detriment of consumers, when they foreclosed, time and time again.

As a mortgage holder, you do what the banks tell you. You assume they’re following the law. Well, Katie Porter checked. And they weren’t. She began to get attention on that as a professor.

While I had started to change minds and get people in power to see that mortgage companies made mistakes and misbehaved, I did not want to be right. I wanted things to be right. Banks used the law to try to collect every penny; we should expect them to follow every rule.

And she decided to run for office to try to make things right.

This book has plenty about running for office and the challenges of being a single mom in Congress and commuting to the other side of the country. (She and her kids tried living in Virginia, but it didn’t work out.) It tells about her background growing up on a farm and the difficult end of her marriage. But my favorite part was where she describes her work in Congress.

As I see it, the real work of Congress is civic education. Democracy only functions if voters know what’s going on in their government and elected representatives know what’s going on in their communities. As a congressmember, that means teaching and learning, respectively.

The American people set the nation’s agenda every two years with House elections, and every four years with presidential elections. They cannot decide if they support a government policy without first knowing what the government is doing (or not doing). Representatives should be teachers, with constituents as our students.

At the same time, we should also be students, learning from our constituents. Without knowing the challenges and ideas of the people we represent, congressmembers can only substitute their own views for voters’ views. While that may happen, it is not how representative democracy is supposed to work. Getting the facts, doing the research, and gaining experience are moments of learning that help me make the best votes for my community.

Teaching and learning are the exact work I did as a law professor, before I ran for Congress. I loved that, and so not surprisingly, I love Congress work.

And yes, using a white board is a fundamental approach to teaching. Visual aids always help!

This concern for people — trying to make government better for actual people — can’t be faked. May Katie Porter continue to serve in this way for many years to come.

Oh and Hooray! When I checked her Twitter account (@katieporteroc), I see that she’s running for Senate in 2024. And she’s got a tagline on her profile: “I did not go to Washington to learn how to play by the rules. I went to Washington to rewrite them.” This book goes into the reasons why she cares about people and wants to make lives better by making government better.

katieporter.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Sorcery of Thorns

by Margaret Rogerson
read by Emily Ellet

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2019. 14 hours, 21 minutes.
Review written February 10, 2023, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review

Last year, my Cybils panel chose Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson as our 2021 winner for the Cybils Award in Young Adult Speculative Fiction. And after reading for the 2022 Cybils awards, I finally made time to listen to an earlier book by Margaret Rogerson.

Sorcery of Thorns is fun because it features an apprentice librarian. But she doesn’t work in any ordinary library. Elisabeth Scrivener was a foundling who grew up in one of the Great Libraries of Austermeer — a library packed with grimoires, full of ancient magic.

But one terrible night, Elisabeth is the only one awake and she finds the director of the library dead, killed by a grimoire that got loose and turned into a malefict — a giant sentient monster. But with the director’s sword, Demonslayer, Elisabeth is able to defeat the malefict.

That gets Elisabeth the attention of all the wrong people. A young sorcerer, Magister Nathaniel Thorn, comes to escort Elisabeth to the chancellor for questioning at the magisterium, along with his demonic servant. Elisabeth knows not to trust sorcerers, but he’s surprisingly kind, and helps Elisabeth when they’re attacked by a horde of fiends. He’s compelled to take her into the protection of his own home.

But when the chancellor takes Elisabeth into custody, she begins to realize something is wrong. Little by little, Elisabeth — and eventually Nathaniel as well — start to unravel clues about a monstrous plot that could destroy the world.

I thoroughly enjoy Margaret Rogerson’s writing, and the romance in this book was delightful. Elisabeth is a wonderfully resourceful heroine who’s more likely to rescue the guy than be rescued, though some of both happens.

I do have a lot of quibbles with the magic. I never have patience for sentient objects feeling emotion. In this case, it was books, but if you look at those details too hard, it just doesn’t work. And the relationship between sorcerers and their demons has some problems as well, if you look too closely. But I enjoy Margaret Rogerson’s writing so much, I was able to set aside all those quibbles and thoroughly enjoy the story.

In fact, I finally got this audiobook listened to because I heard about a new volume coming out, Mysteries of Thorn Manor. I’m now disappointed that it’s only a novella, but happy to get to read a little more about Elisabeth and Nathaniel.

MargaretRogerson.com
simonandschuster.com/teen

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Tiny Treefrog, by Tony Piedra & Mackenzie Joy

Children's Nonfiction Review, Science, Starred Review 0

One Tiny Treefrog

A Countdown to Survival

by Tony Piedra and Mackenzie Joy

Candlewick Press, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written August 16, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review

First, a word of warning. This gorgeous picture book looks like an innocent version of the “and then there were none” counting down book where creatures innocently fall away. This one is a book about predators. So read it, by all means — your kids will learn loads about the Costa Rican rain forest — but first make sure your kid won’t get too attached to the treefrog tadpoles. It’s for a slightly older audience that’s ready to learn about the food chain.

The four pages of notes at the back begin like this:

What does it take to become one tiny red-eyed treefrog? (Agalychnis callidryas)

It takes a whole lot of eggs!
Red-eyed treefrogs do not care for their young, so laying many eggs is a survival strategy. The more eggs a mother frog lays, the greater the chances that one will beat the odds and grow into a treefrog.

Going back to the start of the book, we’ve got a beautiful picture with an adult red-eyed treefrog looking on, focused in on eggs on a leaf.

Ten tiny tadpoles grow in their eggs.

And you guessed it, on each page, a predator gets another one of these offspring. Most (but, curiously, not all) of the predators are labeled with small print on the page where they first appear, but some wait until the back of the book. First we see a social wasp that eats an egg. Then the eggs wiggle off the leaf and fall into the water in a nice spread where the reader needs to turn the book to a vertical orientation.

In the water, where they fell with a plink plink plink, there are new predators. We see the tadpoles grow and change. When they start breathing out of the water, there are new predators, and a nice dramatic spread when a large bare-throated fire heron gets one of them. And oh my goodness, the young spectacled caiman is frightening and sinister! (Remember how I said not to show this to the very youngest children? I wouldn’t use it in preschool storytime, but one-on-one, safely in a grown-ups lap, children fascinated with animals may love this book.)

And at the end, with the last tadpole escaped and back on a tree leaf, we’ve got:

Zero tiny tadpoles.

One tiny treefrog.

I can’t stress enough how gorgeous the paintings in this book are. There’s drama, especially with the heron and the caiman (so be sure your child is ready for it), and lots of fascinating details about Cosa Rican wildlife all throughout the book.

A truly wonderful book for early scientists. But I did laugh about all the eating that happens in what looks like such a sweet book.

tonypiedra.com
mackenziejoy.art

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Boom! by Paul Meisel

Animal Characters, Easy Readers, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Boom!

by Paul Meisel

I Like to Read Comics (Holiday House), 2023. 32 pages.
Review written July 3, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

Oh, this graphic novel for beginning readers is brilliant!

When we open the book, we see a sunshiny day, but a dark cloud coming into the picture with a big RUMBLE RUMBLE.

As the story begins, we see a dog and a cat sleeping. Another RUMBLE RUMBLE happens, and the dog sits up, wide-eyed, and says, “What is that?”

The cat opens one eye and says, “Nothing.”

As the book continues, the dog is hyperaware of every sound and flash from the storm. The cat? She’s playing with her mouse toy, oblivious. But the noises are getting louder….

Then, a giant BOOM BOOM with lightning takes up an entire spread, as both animals look out a sliding glass door. But as it goes on, the dog panics and the cat plays with a new toy.

Finally, a BOOM so big that even the cat is startled comes. The dog goes and hides in a closet. The cat plays with yet another toy.

But while in the closet, the dog falls asleep and dreams. He dreams he is a superhero fighting the storm.

So, when he wakes up and sees the storm is gone, his last happy line is, “I made the storm go away.”

As usual, my description just doesn’t do this book justice. The pictures of the panicking dog and the unconcerned cat will delight kids, picking up on the beautifully-expressed emotion in the illustrations. The dog taking credit for chasing away the storm is the perfect reversal ending. This light-hearted look at a pretty scary storm may help kids deal with their own fears of real storms, as they watch dog’s antics from a safe place outside the book.

The perfect easy reader is one where you forget it’s easy to read because the story is so engaging. This book achieves exactly that.

HolidayHouse.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow

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

Simon Sort of Says

by Erin Bow
read by Will Collyer

Disney Hyperion, 2023. 7 hours, 40 minutes.
Review written August 21, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Ever since I was on the 2019 Newbery committee, I’m convinced that I’m not any good at figuring out which book will win the Newbery Medal on any given year — but I believe I am very good at identifying books that will be considered by the committee. Simon Sort of Says is one such book. I have no idea if it will win or get honor, but this is a book the Newbery committee will surely discuss. And a book those who love children’s books will love to read.

It’s got so many wonderful ingredients: Quirky characters who seem more realistic because of those quirks, a new kid in school at a very distinctive place, loving parents but kid-centric adventures, a main character who’s exceedingly likable, plenty of humor, and a serious theme dealt with realistically and sensitively. Hmmm. Listing the ingredients doesn’t convey how wonderful this book is.

Simon Sort of Says is about 12-year-old Simon O’Keeffe, who’s moving with his family to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska, part of the National Quiet Zone. [Note: The real National Radio Quiet Zone is in West Virginia. So this is a fictional town.] It’s a center for radio telescopes, astronomers, and back-to-nature types. But what Simon loves about it is that nobody has internet access. Okay, he’d like internet access himself, but if none of his classmates have it, no one will have found him on the internet, for that thing that happened two years ago and left him traumatized. Instead, he tells his new class that his family moved there because of the Alpaca Disaster when his father, a lay official with the Catholic church, was overseeing the Blessing of the Pets. Now his father works at the Catholic church in Grin and Bear It, and his mother is the new funeral director, with the family living over the funeral home.

The book begins with new-school stuff and making new friends. Especially notable is Agate, who comes from a very large family who lives on a farm. She’s brilliant, and immediately enlists Simon into a scheme to fake a message from aliens – believing that will encourage the radio astronomers. She also gives Simon a puppy to train to be a therapy dog. And it turns out the puppy is very helpful for Simon.

Okay, that description doesn’t convey the charm of this book either. I can talk about some of the quirky incidents: A peacock named Pretty Stabby. A dog named Todd who opens the refrigerator and gets himself a beer. Emus on the loose that have to be “attracted” rather than forcibly herded. A squirrel that ate the consecrated host — which Simon’s father didn’t find out about until he was leading Communion.

Now, let me also say that I hate that a book about a traumatized kid is completely realistic in this day and age. But I love that this book shows the traumatized kid finding friends, healing, and joy. And a puppy!

This is a truly wonderful book that I already want to read over again.

erinbow.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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 Prayers from the Heart, by Lorna Byrne

Christian, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Prayers from the Heart

Prayers for help and blessings
Prayers of thankfulness and love

by Lorna Byrne

Coronet, 2019. First published in Great Britain in 2018. 278 pages.
Review written August 13, 2023, from my own copy, purchased via Amazon.com
Starred Review

Here’s another book by the wonderful Lorna Byrne, who writes her story in Angels in My Hair, telling how all her life she’s been able to see angels.

In this book, she gives us guidance for praying and fills the book with example prayers for specific situations. The examples are all simple and heartfelt, and reinforce that you really can pray about anything.

I especially enjoyed the first chapter, where she talks about how angels help us and the benefits of prayer:

We all need prayer. Now matter what you say — whether you believe in it or not — there will always be a time in your life when you need prayer. And we do all need it, though sometimes we are so cast down we feel unable to pray. That is why we should all pray for each other, because sometimes we simply cannot pray for ourselves. We may be in too much pain, physically and emotionally, and we cannot say the prayers we need to help us in our lives at that particular time.

It was when I had just read the first chapter and was thinking about how she teaches there are angels all around us that I had a lovely experience that convinced me to believe it.

After all, I believe God loves me. Why not believe that this loving God has servants all around, protecting and helping me and the world around me? This book uplifts me, encourages me, and reminds me to pray.

lornabyrne.com
hodder.co.uk

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but 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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