23 Minutes

23 Minutes. Vivian Vande Velde. 2016. Boyds Mills Press. 176 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The story starts with an act of stunning violence.

Premise/plot: Zoe, our heroine, has a superpower of sorts. She has the ability to curl herself up into a ball, say PLAYBACK, and have time reverse itself exactly twenty-three minutes. She can playback one twenty-three segment of time up to ten times...and then whatever the last time was...is forever frozen. So when Zoe witnesses a crime, a bank robbery, and ends up covered in blood, it seems like the natural right thing to do to try to make it better. True, the robber ended up being shot, but, so did Daniel, the super-nice guy who helped pick up all the papers from the folder when she dropped it.

Readers go with Zoe on the journey to try to make things better. But it won't be easy. For Zoe finds the odds are against happy endings in this instance in particular. Some tries result in "just" two to four people being shot. Others result in a LOT more shots being fired. Including shots into the street where a mom has her child in a stroller passing by...unaware of the lurking danger.

What Zoe needs is an ally, and, Daniel may just be her best chance....

My thoughts: This one is PREMISE-driven. One character is definitely explored and that is Zoe herself. One learns what is in the folder she carries, the secrets in the papers she's got with her. And what they reveal about her is interesting in a way. Though I'm not sure they provide a complete picture. Either readers believe Zoe is who she says she is, and she truly has this power. (Which readers don't really have reason to doubt the way the story is presented.) OR readers can choose to doubt Zoe and believe the papers, Zoe being a psychological mess. (I don't think there is enough ambiguity in the text to allow for this interpretation).

There is a lot of ACTION in this one. I found it nearly impossible to put this one down.

If the book has a weakness, it is Zoe's crush on Daniel. I don't think every reader will have trouble believing that a young girl (15) could notice the "cuteness" of a guy regardless of his age. But some will. I think there's a big difference between noticing how cute a guy is, and, seriously believing that a relationship is possible. Zoe doesn't really, truly think Daniel is boyfriend material. But she can't help finding him cute all the same. And for better or worse, readers have to hear Zoe talk about how cute Daniel is again and again. As I said before, this may prove annoying to some readers. But I don't think every reader will react the same way.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Five 2009 picture books

Oh, What a Beautiful Day! A Counting Book. Jeanne Modesitt. Illustrated by Robin Spowart. 2009. Boyds Mill Press. 32 pages.

Oh, what a beautiful day! One pig is prancing. Two ducks are dancing. Three chicks are cheeping. 

I really love this one! It is charming; it is lovely. A cozy, gentle counting-to-ten book starring a young girl who's enjoying life. I love her "And I'm a part of it all." The illustrations are soft, sweet, and oh-so-perfect for this kind of book. 

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations:  4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

Not Last Night But The Night Before. Colin McNaugton. Illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. 2009. Candlewick. 32 pages.

Not last night but the night before, three black cats came knocking at the door. I came downstairs to let them in; They knocked me down like a bowling pin. Not last night but the night before, the man in the moon came knocking at the door. He rushed right in; he didn't stop. He spun me round like a spinning top. 

Not Last Night But the Night Before is quirky. It is imaginative; it celebrates plenty of nursery tales (Little Miss Muffet, Little Bo Peep, Three Blind Mice, Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, etc) throughout the text. The illustrations reveal even more of the story. (The company makes an even bigger mess perhaps than the Cat in the Hat.) It's rhythmic. It's a bit crazy. You'll either love it or hate it, I suppose!

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

Grumpy Grandpa. Heather Henson. Illustrated by Ross Macdonald. 2009. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages.

I have one grandpa. He is always grumpy. I call him Grumpy Grandpa even though I'm not supposed to. Mom gets mad, but it's true. Grumpy Grandpa is always grumpy. And he's scary, too.

The little boy narrating Grumpy Grandpa is a little scared of his grandpa. He's come with his family to stay for two whole weeks. He can't imagine why anyone would come to spend time with someone who is just grumpy no matter what. But during this visit, the little boy learns a little more about his grandfather. And the two do become friends. 

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

Llama Llama Misses Mama. Anna Dewdney. 2009. Penguin. 40 pages. 

Llama Llama, warm in bed. 
Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!
Llama school begins today!
Time to learn and time to play!

It is Llama Llama's first day of school. And will there be llama drama? Yes. But not as much as you might expect considering some of his tantrums in previous books. 

This one is part of a series. Other titles include Llama Llama Red Pajama, Llama Llama Time to Share, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama Home With Mama, Llama Llama Holiday Drama, Llama Llama Nighty-Night, Llama Llama Wakey-Wake, Llama Llama Zippity-Zoom, Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

Who Wants to Be A Poodle I don't. Lauren Child. 2009. Candlewick. 40 pages. 

In a sumptuous apartment in a fashionable city lived the elegantly rich and divinely glamorous Mademoiselle Verity Brulee. Along with Verity Brulee, with her very own personal bedroom, lived Trixie Twinkle Toes Trot-a-Lot Delight or Trixie Toes for short or Trixie Twinkle Belle or Trixie Belle Baby, depending on Verity's mood.

 Trixie, our heroine, does NOT like her name. She wants to be an ordinary dog. She does not want to wear clothes or be styled or groomed all the time. She wants to be like all the other dogs. She wants to be free to step in puddles, among other things. But how will she ever convince her owner? This picture book is all about being misunderstood and finding your voice anyhow.

I thought the design of the book kept it from being reader friendly. It is hard on the eyes to have black text on dark backgrounds--like brown or dark gray. And perhaps it's fun or cute to have the text wrap around in circles and such, but I found it annoying.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 2 out of 5
Total: 5 out of 10

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Bug Off: Creepy, Crawly Poems

Bug Off! Creepy, Crawly Poems. Jane Yolen. Photographs by Jason Stemple. 2012. Boyds Mill Press. 32 pages.

I had low expectations for Bug Off! For one, I do not like insects. I don't like looking at insects, photos of insects. Even in a photograph, some can still make me squirm. And poetry is hit or miss for me, most of the time. So what did I think about Jane Yolen's Bug Off? Well, I liked it. It wasn't perfect. I'm not claiming that all thirteen poems are amazingly, wonderfully worthy. But the fact that each poem is followed by a nonfiction (prose) paragraph with detailed information on each insect, the fact that these paragraphs usually have at least one or two facts that are fascinating, it helps to make up for some of the more mediocre poems. In other words, I can be unimpressed by an insect's particular poem, but fascinated by the nonfiction prose about that insect. And then, of course, there are times where I enjoyed both.

The thirteen poems:

• Oh, Fly
• Praying Mantis on the Prowl
• Butterfly to a Flower
• An Army of Ants
• Honey Bee Mine
• Lovebug Alone
• Daddy Very Long Legs
• Spider to the Poet
• Dragonfly Lights
• Pop! Goes the Tick
• The No-Spot Ladybug in Court
• Grasshopper Green
• Swarm

My favorite poems were "An Army of Ants," "Butterfly to a Flower," and "Grasshopper Green."

Here is one stanza from An Army of Ants

An army of ants, an army of ants,
A-walk on a stalk, everyone in a trance;
Over and under a number of plants.
Too busy for beauty, not even a glance. 

Here is one stanza from Grasshopper Green

Greener than the grass he swings on,
Greener than the stalk he clings on,
Greener than the grass he sings on,
Green, green, green.

Some new-to-me facts...

• Many butterflies can taste food with their feet
• The number of spots a ladybug has depends on the number of spots its parents had
• The lovebug can fly as high as 1,500 feet in the air which is higher than the Empire State Building

Read Bug Off!

• If you're a teacher looking for a book about insects to share with your students
• If you're a teacher looking for creative poetry and nonfiction to share with your students
• If you have an interest in insects
• If you have an interest in nature photographs

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Warriors In The Crossfire (MG)

Warriors in the Crossfire. Nancy Bo Flood. 2010. March 2010. Boyds Mill Press. 142 pages.

Set on the small island of Saipan during World War II, Warriors in the Crossfire is a novel about the impact of war on families and communities. I've always been interested to read war stories (fiction or not) about how war impacts others. War isn't just about soldiers and battlefields after all. It effects women and children too.

In Warriors in the Crossfire, readers learn how it impacted the island natives. Joseph, our narrator, is placed in a difficult position. He's forced to be 'the man of the house' when the war comes to the island. He's seen the Japanese soldiers be cruel to his people. But he's also heard terrible things about the Americans. He's heard that they eat children. So he knows--or thinks he knows--that the American soldiers can't be trusted either. So is there any place where Joseph and his family can be safe? How can Joseph know who to trust? How can Joseph find the strength and courage to make those tough decisions?

Warriors in the Crossfire is fiction. But there are certain events in the novel which are all too true. This was my first time to learn about Suicide Cliff.

If you enjoyed this story, you might consider reading The Girl With the White Flag by Tomiko Higa. That book is nonfiction, and it is simply amazing.

To read what others are saying:

Whispers of Dawn, Cafe of Dreams, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, 5 Minutes for Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, My Utopia

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Dog in the Wood (MG)

The Dog in the Wood. By Monika Schroder. 2009. (November 2009). Boyds Mill Press. 168 pages.

In the distance Fritz heard again the droning of engines.

What a short but incredibly powerful little book this is. Set in Germany in the very last days of the war. It concerns a family in crisis. Fritz's grandfather is a Nazi--even though the cause may be lost, is already lost according to everyone else in the village--his grandfather clings to his beloved cause until he doesn't. One moment he's all, I'll fight to the bitter end to protect my home, my family, my land, and the next moment he's hanging--yes, hanging--alongside his wife. Afraid that the Russians will do even worse if he doesn't go this way. What's a young boy, just ten or so, to do when life as he knows it suddenly isn't. What does the Russian arrival mean for him? For his mom and older sister? Can he find a way to be strong, to make it? Is what his mother say true, is the worst really over? Or is there more horror yet to come? This one is a coming-of-age story that is ugly at times but also very compelling.

The Dog in the Wood is a harsh novel. By harsh I mean realistic. It doesn't sugarcoat the effect of war. On women. On children. On everyone. It's a very human novel as well. One of those books where you see the very human side of war, of what it does to real people (though these people are fictional), to every day people like you and me. It's a haunting story all the more so because you know its based in truth.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Travel the World: Belgium: Lovey and Dovey

van Lieshout, Elle and Erik van Os. Lovey and Dovey. Illustrated by Miles van Hout. Boyds Mill Press. 2009.

This is an odd but oddly charming, thoroughly unique picture book originally published in Belgium. It is the story of two love birds, love birds who happen to be jail birds too. Their crime? Stealing a pair of blue socks from the corner sock shop. (You'll notice Lovey is wearing one and so is Dovey.) Dovey--the gentleman robber--loves taking care of his woman, Lovey. And if that means sneaking through the bars each night and stealing...well, whatever it takes. What does Dovey steal? The sun, the moon, the stars...and a whole lot more besides. Soon their jail cell is their idea of heaven on earth. I won't go into all the details on this one--but it's cute. Maybe not traditionally cute...after all...how many picture books about happy-go-lucky prisoners are there?


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Thaw

Roe, Monica M. 2008. Thaw.

Our narrator, Dane Rafferty, is a dumb boy. And that's not an exaggeration. He's a boy that really and truly doesn't get it. Doesn't get what it means to be considerate, be nice, be respectful, be humane, be compassionate. Stubborn. Angry. Self-centered. Frustrated.

Dane, when we first meet, him is helpless. Stricken with a disease--Guillain-Barre Syndrome--Dane is paralyzed. The good news, 75% of patients with GBS recover and gain back use of their bodies. Dane is past the worst--he's now able to breathe on his own. But the rest--control of his body from simple things like turning one's head, moving his arms, hands, fingers, sitting up, standing, walking, etc.--is all beyond him. For Dane, an active teen guy--a skier to be exact--this disease has crippled him mentally and emotionally.

The narrative is fractured, told in two parts--then and now. The now is March through May; the then is February. In just a few months, his life has changed--everything has changed. We meet his parents, his girlfriend, his friends through these passages. And what we see is not pretty. Dane is a jerk--pure and simple. But we are also seeing Dane in the present. We understand--or I suppose that should be I understood--why he was bitter and angry and cold. Why he put up such a defensive stand. He's angry at himself. Angry at his body. Frustrated with everybody including himself. He doesn't know how to trust. He doesn't know how to be patient. He doesn't know how to accept help.

The book is well-written. Very authentic. Even when Dane is acting like an a**, it feels like he's an authentic one. His coming-of-age story is powerful in its vulnerable honesty. This one's definitely worth sticking with, the pay off is very satisfying. One of my favorite aspects? The characterization. Everyone has depth. The story and characters are intricately done. Loved it.

Set in Florida and New York.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews