Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Twain, Mark. 1876. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

It is my hope and prayer that no one is ever assigned Tom Sawyer for "required reading." Why? Because this one is just too much fun to be boiled down to work. That and the fact that Tom himself would hate it. He has no use for school, you see.

In my opinion, Tom Sawyer is one of the best characters ever. He's young. He's playful. He's trouble, it's true, but beneath the surface he is a good boy. I like seeing life through Tom's eyes. I like hanging out with him. He's just a good companion.

Tom Sawyer is proof that Twain is a genius. Plain and simple. Anyone who could write a book as funny and as charming as Tom Sawyer is a genius.

"Monday morning found Tom Sawyer miserable. Monday morning always found him so, because it began another week's slow suffering in school. He generally began that day with wishing he had had no intervening holiday, it made the going into captivity and fetters again so much more odious." (52)

Definitely recommended as proof that classics are NOT boring and are EASILY accessible to the modern reader.

Loved this quote:

"I was rereading Tom Sawyer. I couldn't read it the day before because Mark Twain, like most of my favorite writers, is not thought suitable reading for a Sunday. I've tried to argue with Ma about this.
"When does a person need comfort from a good book more than on a Sunday?" I asked. Beth [his sister] just snorted. Seems all her favorite books are suitable for Sunday reading." From PREACHER'S BOY by Katherine Paterson, p. 24-25

Dewey asks, "Who is your favorite character in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?"

That would probably be Tom himself. Though I love Becky as well. Their budding relationship is just cute.

Heather asks a series of questions:

1 - Have you read this before? If so, did your opinion of the book vary from last time?

This is actually my second time to read Tom Sawyer. My first experience with this fun-loving rascal of a boy was in the fall of 2003. I must say that it only improved on rereading. My memory isn't always the greatest...so I found the humorous parts to be just as charming, surprising, and delightful as before. The humor is what I loved most. Though this one has a lot of heart too.

2 - Some people complain about the racism in Twain's books. Does the racism of that time period bother you in the same was a modern writer making racist comments would? (I don't know if I'm making sense here ... let me know if you don't get what I'm asking.)

No and yes. I'll explain. I didn't find the use of the n-word to be negative in this book. I didn't think it was used in a negative way. It wasn't a slam or a slur. It wasn't a hate-filled word. Tom was not using it venomously. It was used a handful of times it's true. But it was casual. I think looked at in context, it was just a word that was common, casual, and natural at that time period. It just was.

I think Twain's books both because of the n-word and because of the character of "Injun Joe" should be read thoughtfully by placing the book in context. I'm not sure if kids are as gullible as we sometimes think. Meaning that I think most are smart enough to figure out that just because things used to be a certain way doesn't mean they should still be that way. You can't really see progress, see change, unless you ground everything historically. You need to know about the past so you can see the present clearly and plan on an even better future.

I didn't find Tom Sawyer racist. Not in the same way that other books are. For example, Gone With The Wind is much more racist--openly racist than Tom Sawyer is. And Little House on the Prairie is much more racist than Tom Sawyer is. So when viewed in a spectrum of other literature, I think Tom Sawyer is a fairly safe.

3 - If you have not read other books by Twain, will you? If you have, how does this compare with his other works?

I've read Tom Sawyer twice. Diary of Adam and Eve once. And Huck Finn once, though Huck was required reading in school and thus wasn't much appreciated. Tom Sawyer is probably my favorite. I hope to read more Twain this year or next.

Chris asked, " As an adult, did you find Tom Sawyer to be charming or a brat? "

Well, I felt like a kid when I was reading it. It's one of those that if it was my son or my nephew or my cousin or my student that I'd probably find him to be bratty. If I was in charge of "disciplining" him, he'd be too much to handle. But I just find him so likable. I just genuinely found him to be charming. I think this would be a textbook of hate the sin, love the sinner.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Richest Doll in the World

Robertus, Polly M. 2008. The Richest Doll in the World.

The flap on this one called it an "exciting, spooky tale that will appeal to anyone who has ever loved a doll." I'm not so sure. The good news? It's short. And the print is large. The bad news? I didn't like many (if any) of the characters.

This is a holiday-based mystery for the 8 to 10 crowd. Emily is an orphan living with her grandmother, Grandma Rose. When the story opens, we see Emily whiningto her Grandma begging her to let her go with her to work. Emily wants to go with her because she's super-curious about her Grandma's 'crazy' employer, Mrs. Bigley. More to the point, she's super-curious about Mrs. Bigley's doll, Delilah. It's the only thing in the world that she could ever ever want for Christmas. But Grandma won't let her go. She wants to keep her job. And Mrs. Bigley is not mentally or emotionally stable enough for visitors. But Emily refuses to take no for an answer. And she follows her grandmother secretly. Super-spy she is not. Emily didn't really realize how cold and how dangerous and how foolhardy this whole plan was to begin with.

I don't really want to say too much more. It'd be a contest to see who was more annoying as a character--Mrs. Bigley or Emily. But needless to say I think someone has been praying for Grandma Rose to have patience--lots and lots of patience.

Spooky? Slightly. Exciting? Hardly. More spooky than exciting. It's definitely darker than most doll books. It'd be a question for the individual reader how much the book redeems itself in the end.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Sherlock Files: The 100 Year Old Secret

Barrett, Tracy. 2008. The Sherlock Files: The 100 Year Old Secret.

Much like The Sisters Grimm series only for young mystery lovers. Xena and Xander Holmes discover, shortly after moving to England, to London to be specific, that they are descendants of Sherlock Holmes. They "inherit" a book of unsolved cases, and decide to have a go with it.

It is the first in a new series. It's written for younger readers--those in the eight to ten crowd I imagine. It was a nice, fun mystery. I really enjoyed the premise.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Floating Circus

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2008. The Floating Circus.

"I shoulda listened to my brother. Right follows Zach like a shadow, but wrong wears me like a skin."

Owen and Zach, two brothers, two orphans from Pittsburgh. When we first meet Owen, he is getting ready to fall into some trouble. Dared to climb a tree to see if he could touch the roof of the orphanage, his attempt is brave but extremely foolish. Now he has lost the use of his left arm. When he overhears two elderly ladies--Miss Jane and Miss Eliza--talking about how no one would want to adopt the pair of them--Owen being both a troublemaker and a somewhat crippled one at that--but how Zach could easily find a home, find a family, if he was alone, if he didn't have his brother around, Owen decides to runaway. If his brother would be better off without him, then maybe it's time that he showed just how much he loved his brother by doing what would be best for him in the long run.

Owen mostly by accident joins a circus boat, the River Palace. He's an assistant to a free black man, Solomon, he helps him take care of the animals on board. It includes a lot of CLEANING as I'm sure you can imagine. Solomon is kind and friendly. Owen and Solomon become easy friends and companions. Most of the others ignore him at least in the beginning.

I don't want to say too much. I hate reading things that spoil the plot even a little bit. But this one is good, really good. If you like historical fiction at all...you really should give this one a try. It was inspired by a real showboat, Rogers and Spalding's Floating Palace.

According to the author's website, the book will be released July 22, 2008.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Savvy

Law, Ingrid. 2008. Savvy.

Savvy is another book that had me at hello. "When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it." Isn't that a great first sentence? Puzzling enough to hook you? I think so. A few pages later we read, "Monday through Wednesday, we called our thin stretch of land Kansaska. Thursday through Saturday, we called it Nebransas. On Sundays, since that was the Lord's Day, we called it nothing at all, out of respect for His creating our world without the lines already drawn on its face like all my grandpa's wrinkles." (4) So right from the beginning, the reader knows to expect the unexpected. Our narrator, a young girl named Mississippi (Mibs), has quite a way with words. She's fantastic. She's fun. And she's almost thirteen.

Mibs comes from a "special" family. Around the age of 13, every member of the family comes into their own on their thirteenth birthday. They discover their savvy, their special know-how power. For Fish, it was power of water--rain, thunder, winds, etc. For her brother Rocket it was electricity. Her mother's savvy is perfection. She can do things perfectly or mess up perfectly. Each member of her mother's side of the family is special like that--all unique, all special, all a bit weird.

Mibs is curious, super-super curious to get her savvy. Listen to this description of her waiting, "The itch and scritch of birthday buzz was about all I was feeling on the Thursday before the Friday before the Saturday I turned thirteen." But a few days before--the very day this passage was taken from the narrative--her birthday, her father is in a serious car accident. He's in a hospital almost 100 miles a way. While her mother goes to be with him, she leaves the kids--Rocket, Fish, Mibs, Samson, and Gypsy--at home.

Soon Mibs becomes convinced that her savvy will cure her father, will heal him, make him all better. But as you might imagine, savvy powers, don't quite work like that.

The novel focuses on her impromptu journey to visit her father--no matter what--and the lives she changes along the way on her special birthday weekend.

Definitely recommended.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Willoughbys

Lowry, Lois. 2008. The Willoughbys.

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this one. Would I love it? Would I like it? Would I "get" it? You see The Willoughbys is an old-fashioned story. It's very tongue-in-cheek. It's very funny. Very enjoyable. But it's just strange enough that it has the potential to either really charm you or really irritate you. So which would it do to me? That was the question. I knew some bloggers appreciated it. But I know that sometimes I can't help being contrary. Well, I'm glad to say that I did really enjoy this one. I don't know that it was L-O-V-E, sing a song, do a little happy dance good. But I really really enjoyed it. I did love it. (I just don't know if it will be one that will go on my love, love, love list.) It's Lois Lowry. Expectations are naturally high. But this one is unlike what Lowry I've read. It's not The Giver. It's not Number the Stars. It isn't Gossamer. It isn't Messenger. Or Gathering Blue. It's very unique. You'll just have to give it a try yourself because there is no way I can do it justice. Not really.

Once upon a time there was a family named Willoughby: an old-fashioned type of family, with four children. The eldest was a boy named Timothy; he was twelve. Barnaby and Barnaby were ten-year-old twins. No one could tell them apart, and it was even more confusing because they had the same name; so they were known as Barnaby A and Barnaby B. Most people, including their parents, shortened this to A and B, and many were unaware that the twins even had names. There was also a girl, a timid, pretty little thing with eyeglasses and bangs. She was the youngest, just six and a half, and her name was Jane. They lived in a tall, thin house in an ordinary city and they did the kinds of things that children in old-fashioned stories do. They went to school and to the seashore. They had birthday parties. Occasionally they were taken to the circus or the zoo, although they did not care much for either, excepting the elephants. Their father, an impatient and irascible man, went to work at a bank each day, carrying a briefcase and an umbrella even if it was not raining. Their mother, who was indolent and ill-tempered, did not go to work. Wearing a pearl necklace, she grudgingly prepared the meals. once she read a book but she found it distasteful because it contained adjectives. Occasionally she glanced at a magazine. (11-12)

Quote is taken from an ARC, so it might not be true to the book in its published form.

Definitely recommended!!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Blue Like Friday

Parkinson, Siobhan. 2008. Blue Like Friday.

This one has a nice, quirky narrator. Olivia has definitely got a voice all her own. Blue Like Friday is a book about friendship, about life, about holding on and letting go. On the surface, though, this is a light and enjoyable mystery. Olivia has a best friend, Hal; he's definitely quirky and weird. But he's got a tragic past as well. His father died when he was young. And Hal is having a really really difficult time accepting her mother's boyfriend. Hal wants to come up with a plot to get rid of this man for good, a way for it to be just him and his mom again. But plans don't always work out the way you want. And sometimes kids don't really know what's best for them. (It's set in Ireland by the way.)

This one is enjoyable enough. I liked it. I really liked it. But I'm not sure I loved it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Secrets of the Cirque Medrano

Scott, Elaine. 2008. Secrets of the Cirque Medrano.

Brigitte Dubrinsky was shaken out of an uneasy nap by the hiss from the steam engine and the protesting screech of the train's wheels on the track.

Brigitte is an orphan on her way to meet her aunt and uncle. Aunt Dominique and Uncle Georges own the Cafe Dominique, and they have generously offered to take her into their home. They write that if things go well, then they might very well leave the cafe to her since they have no children of their own. I should have perhaps mentioned that Secrets of the Cirque Medrano is set in 1904-1905 Paris, France. To be more specific, the text is set in Montmartre.

The novel focuses on two things in particular, three if you want to blend them together. First, our heroine is captivated by the circus, particularly the Cirque Medrano. Second, the novel focuses on art, in particular, Pablo Picasso. Picasso is a regular (though generally not a good reliable paying customer) customer at Cafe Dominique. Brigitte and Henri (a Russian boy they've hired) help out at the restaurant. They seem to take turns being fascinated with the artist and his crowd. Where these two focus-points seem to blend together is their poverty, their lower "class-ness" that makes some look down upon them. Henri is especially vocal. He believes in revolution, in anarchy, in socialism--he's always quoting Marx. Brigitte tries to understand everyone and everything...from the circus performers she befriends, to Henri, to her aunt and uncle, etc. Quite observant and full of hope, she makes for an interesting narrator.

Elaine Scott was inspired to write Secrets of the Cirque Medrano by Picasso's painting Family of Saltimbanques, 1905

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Underneath

Appelt, Kathi. 2008. The Underneath.

The Underneath is a novel that I would have avoided (at all costs) as a kid. I was a wimp. Big-time. Seeing the dog and two kittens on the cover? That would have made me suspicious or wary from the get go. Reading that it is for folks who love, "Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling" would have sealed the deal. I wouldn't have gone near this one. No way. No how.

As an adult, however, how can I help but fall in love with The Underneath? It's beautiful. It's simply beautiful. Like a love letter to the English language. Appelt's poetic style suits this prose novel achingly well. (Appelt has written several poetry books, a short story collection, and more than a few picture books. I've had the pleasure of meeting her as well and have quite a few autographed copies.) Appelt's storytelling is powerful, effective, and oh-so-magically spellbinding.

There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A small calico cat. Her family, the one she lived with, has left her in this old and forgotten forest, this forest where the rain is soaking into her soft fur. (1)

The Underneath is about friendship, about love, about hate, about sacrifice, about revenge, about death, about life in all its shades and colors. It's bittersweet but beautiful. It's sorrows and joys are pure and heartfelt.

For cats, a hound is a natural enemy. This is the order of things. Yet how could the calico cat be afraid of a hound who sang, whose notes filled the air with so much longing? But when she got to the place where the hound sang, she knew that something was wrong. She stopped. In front of her sat a shabby frame house with peeling paint, a house that slumped on one side as if it were sinking into the red dirt. The windows were cracked and grimy. There was a rusted pickup truck parked next to it, a dark puddle of thick oil pooled beneath its undercarriage. She sniffed the air. It was wrong, this place. The air was heavy with the scent of old bones, of fish and dried skins, skins that hung from the porch like a ragged curtain. Wrong was everywhere. She should turn around, she should go away, she should not look back. She swallowed. Perhaps she had taken the wrong path? What path should she take? All the paths were the same. She felt her kittens stir. It surely wouldn't be safe to stay here in this shabby place. She was about to turn around, when there it was again--the song, those silver notes, the ones that settled just beneath her skin. Her kittens stirred again, as if they, too, could hear the beckoning song. She stepped closer to the unkempt house, stepped into the overgrown yard. She cocked her ears and let the notes lead her, pull her around the corner. There they were, those bluesy notes.
Oh, I woke up, it was rainin',
But it was tears came fallin' down.
Yes, I woke up, it was rainin',
But it was tears came fallin' down.
Can't you see I'm tryin'? Can't you hear my cryin'?
Can't you see I'm all alone?
Can't you throw this old dog a bone?
Then she realized, this song wasn't calling for a bone, it was calling for something else, someone else. Another step, another corner. And there he was, chained to the corner of the back porch. His eyes were closed, his head held back, baying. She should be afraid, she should turn around and run, she should climb the nearest tree. She did not. Instead, she simply walked right up to this baying hound and rubbed against his front legs. She knew the answer to his song, for if she could bay, her song would be the same. Here. Right here. Ranger. (9-11)

I really can't recommend this one highly enough.



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Are you a kindred spirit too?

Montgomery, L.M. 1908. Anne of Green Gables.

I first 'discovered' Anne Shirley through watching the 1985 and 1987 films by Kevin Sullivan/Wonderworks when they aired on my local PBS station. As far as I'm concerned, these two are the ONLY films that are 'real.' Meaning that the monstrosity of a film released in 2000 doesn't exist at all. It's something that should be avoided at all costs. It is evil, evil, pure evil.

It would have been around sixth or seventh grade (1989-1990 or 1990-1991) that I 'discovered' the Anne of the books by L.M. Montgomery. It was love at first sight pure and simple. I loved Anne of Green Gables, yes, but I loved all of the Anne books. Then I moved from loving all the Anne books to loving all the Emily books. And then I started loving all the stand-alone novels too...like Tangled Web and Blue Castle. And then I discovered the short story collections. My sister started it, I suppose. She was the official owner of all the L.M. Montgomery books. And she never let me forget it either. I simply loved and adored L.M. Montgomery. She was the best of the best as far as I was concerned.

What is there to love about Anne Shirley? Everything! She's creative, imaginative, bright, vibrant, contagiously fun, good-spirited, and lovable. In a word she is charming. Oh to see the world through the eyes of Anne. There is something so wonderfully innocent and optimistic about Anne.

In Anne of Green Gables (1908), the reader is introduced to Avonlea. We meet Anne, Marilla, Matthew, Rachel, Diana, Gilbert, and those awful Pyes as well. The characters, the settings, the rich-and-detailed text...everything about this book is perfect.

Anne of Green Gables
Walk with her through Avonlea
Kindred spirit, yes?


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When

Laing, Annette. 2007. Don't Know Where, Don't Know When.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, But I know we'll meet again, some sunny day. Keep smiling through, just like you always do, 'Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the book that would have been perfect for the eight or nine year old me. It had everything I was looking for then: history, history, and time travel. Oh, and light mysteries to solve. How could I forget that little hook?! I've always always had a thing for time travel whether in tv shows, movies, or books. I've also always been fascinated with history. With learning the ins and outs of daily life in various time periods, in various locales. So this book so would have been right my speed at that age. That's not to say I don't have an appreciation for it now. But the degree has lessened to a certain extent. I enjoyed it now. I did. But I would have been crazy about it as a kid.

Set in three time periods, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the story of three children. Two of the children are brother and sister. The third child is a stranger whom the children meet just minutes before this exciting adventure begins. The siblings are Hannah and Alex Dias--though they later go by the names of Hannah and Alex Day. The third child is an African-American child named Brandon Clark. (Yes, race does play a role in this book.) He goes by several different names further along in the text--George Braithwaite, George Clark. The three meet seemingly by chance at the University library. They all three live in the (fictional) college town Snipesville, Georgia.

I mentioned three time periods. The first, the one in which we meet our narrators, is present day America. The other two time periods are a small town in England--Balesworth--both World War II and World War I. If it sounds confusing, don't worry. It flows smoother than it might at first appear. I promise.

These three children know very little about wartime Britain--but they're about to get an up, close, and personal tour of Britain during both World Wars, and the reader is along for the ride.

I won't say the book had me at hello. It didn't. I had to overcome my prejudice of the book cover. No offense is meant to whoever--or whomever--designed it. But it just doesn't say "read me, read me" for this particular reader. And it didn't have me hooked for the introduction and the prologue. However, by the second or third chapter, once the characters had mysteriously or magically time traveled back to 1940 England, I was one curious reader. And by the time Brandon/George vanished to time travel--on his own--to 1915 England, there was no doubt about it. I was liking it. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. So if you decide to pick up this one, please promise me to give it the fifty page test.

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is an enjoyable treat of a novel. Proof that you NEVER should judge a book by the cover.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Island of the Blue Dolphins

O'Dell, Scott. 1960. Island of the Blue Dolphins.

If as a child I read Island of the Blue Dolphins, I must have blocked it from my memory. And there's a good reason for that: 1 dead father +1 dead brother +1 dead dog + countless years spent alone on an island trying to survive the elements and cope with the loneliness = 1 book I'd just as soon live without. Sometimes I try to fool myself into thinking that I'm all introspective, that I am happy with my alone time. It doesn't work for long. I need people. Not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But given enough "alone" time, I start to go crazy.

Island of the Blue Dolphins is about a girl, Karana, and her slightly unusual coming-of-age story. It is based on a true story. Which *should* logically make the dead father, the dead brother, the dead dog, etc. easier to accept because it is so authentic. The author's note says, "The girl Robinson Crusoe whose story I have attempted to re-create actually lived alone upon this island from 1835 to 1853, and is known to history as The Lost Woman of San Nicolas." I cannot imagine, can't fathom, the emotional, mental, and physical strain of such loneliness. To not only have to have the strength and courage and common sense to survive day after day and season after season and year after year, but to have to live with everything psychologically speaking.

The novel begins with the arrival of the Aleuts. Karana's tribe welcome halfheartedly these strangers onto their shores. These hunters are here to kill sea otters. They agree to pay for this privilege; however, there is some distrust. Her family, her community, are unsure about the trustworthiness of these men, these strangers. But what can they do? If they don't allow them to hunt, won't that be challenging them and provoking a war? If they do allow them to hunt, and they don't get what has been promised, that is a challenge or threat of war as well. But there is a small chance that they might actually be honorable. I don't know if there is a right or wrong way to go about it. What is, is.

As you might have guessed, these men are not honorable. And the community is practically slaughtered. By the time these strangers leave, the tribe is down to fifteen men--most of them old men or young boys. There are only a handful of men physically and mentally capable of leadership. Karana's father, the chief, is one of the men that died. She does witness it--from a distance I believe.

The people then decide, over the next few years or seasons, that the island has too many bad memories. That they should try to move to another island. One man goes off in search of a new home, and he later sends a ship back for the rest of the tribe.

The problem? Karana's brother misses the boat. He went back home to get his spear despite Karana having told him NOT to go because there wasn't enough time. She's safely on the boat, but her brother isn't. As they're leaving, she realizes that he is not there. She even, I believe, sees him on the shore. She jumps into the sea and swims home. The tragedy of it all? Within a few days--maybe even that same day--her brother is dead--mauled by a pack of wild dogs. So her brave attempt to be a good big sister is all in vain. Now she's alone, alone, alone.

Perhaps some people love the Robinson Crusoe of it all. I'm not one of them. I didn't like Robinson Crusoe in school--hated it in fact. And this doesn't really read like Swiss Family Robinson. For one thing, it's realistic. But another thing, it's the story of one person's isolation. Maybe the book doesn't focus on the alone-ness of it. But as a reader, it was something I couldn't escape. How do you keep your sanity when you are all alone for years and years?

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

She is eventually rescued. But she is never reunited with her community, her tribe. What is perhaps sadder is that she could only communicate with others in signs. No one understood her language, and she couldn't understand other languages. So even supposedly-rescued, she remains isolated in a way. I can't imagine being unable to communicate fully and freely. To be alone in your own little world. There is something so troubling about this whole mess. People need to be heard, be understood. They need to connect.

I think there are many many people who love this book. I don't know that I can grasp the why of that love. But it's there just the same. I am not one of them. This book has a haunting sadness, a heartbreaking melancholy that I just DON'T want to experience again.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Fearless

Lott, Tim. 2007. Fearless.

Prologue:

The girl could hear sobbing in the front room. Her mother was always crying about something or other, so the girl didn't take much notice. She just kept staring at the vidscreen in the corner of her bedroom. It was playing a vacation ad, all blue sea and white waves and sand like a field of honey. She wished she could just climb into the vidscreen and stretch out on the sand, dip her toes into the water, and never return. She would stay there and watch the world from the other side of the screen.
Then the knocking on the front door began. The girl thought that was odd, because they had a perfectly good doorbell. The knock seemed almost like a message. It went rap-rap-rappety-rap, as if it were a friend or a neighbor who always did their own special knock. But friends never came after dark, and the neighbors kept to themselves.
The girl heard a noise behind her. She turned and saw her mother. A dark birthmark the size of a fingernail and the shape of a star protruded from her hairline. Her cheeks were still damp from crying; her eyes were red and scrunched up like meat from a butcher's shop. She hadn't answered the door. Instead she lifted the girl up and pressed their faces together. The girl kissed her mother and tasted salt.. Her mother smiled, as if to tell her that everything was OK. Then she said she had some presents for her. The girl didn't understand. Her birthday was months away.
Her mother produced a small cloth bag and brought out three objects. The first was