Becky's Book Reviews

Monday, February 13, 2023

31. Freewater

Freewater. Amina Luqman-Dawson. 2022. 416 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Sanzi had broken yet another rule, but she didn't care.

Premise/plot: Freewater is the 2023 Newbery Award Winner. This historical novel has alternating narrators. Homer and Ada, two of our narrators, are runaway slaves; they are running for their lives, running towards freedom. They stumble into a swampy civilization comprised of former slaves and freeborn. Their community--their society--is unique. There are always those on the outside guarding the community within. Danger lurks--in general from white communities looking to chop down trees or claim/reclaim swamp lands, from those hunting slaves, from slave-hunting dogs.

The Southerland Plantation is the plantation Homer and Ada are running from. They left behind their mother and their friend(s). The novel also includes perspectives/voices from those--white and black--still on the plantation.

My thoughts: The subject is a heavy one for sure. It is not particularly "fun" and "enjoyable" to read about slaves, former slaves, etc. But reading doesn't always have to be fun nor enjoyable. Some books exist for the purpose of education or instruction. Or perhaps in this case to build empathy and understanding.

Would I have personally enjoyed this one more if there were fewer voices? fewer narrators? Perhaps. It's definitely possible. When the cast of characters is large, when there are so many voices, so many stories, so much going on with each character...it can be more difficult to connect and stay connected with the narrative as a whole. While I cared--in general--about what happened and if the community would be safe and continue to thrive, I didn't care as much about individuals telling the story. So I wanted to keep reading because of needing closure in general, but not because I was so invested in one person's story that I had to keep turning pages.

I am glad overall that I read this one.

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Sunday Salon #7 Newbery Expectations

Two weeks ago (???) the Newbery winner and honors were announced. My holds are starting to come in at the library, and have been coming in this past week. I started reading some of the Newbery and Caldecott books (winners, honors). Doing so always comes with EXPECTATIONS. Perhaps not every reader approaches an "award winner" with expectations, with baggage. But I'm not every reader. That's why I personally prefer to read as many contenders before the big announcement. Of course, that's a BIG impossible dream. No one (perhaps with the exception of Ms. Yingling) can read every book that might win. (There are rules and guidelines).

Newbery Medal --

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson.

Newbery Honors --

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
Maisy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee

I've got all four checked out. I've finished Iveliz Explains It All (which was the one that came in first to the library). I'm in the middle of Freewater. I haven't started the other two.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Newbery. On the one hand, there have been some amazing books that have (rightfully) won (or been honored). On the other hand, sometimes they lack--let's be honest--actual appeal. They may be "IMPORTANT" or "SIGNIFICANT." But be dull as dirt for some-many readers. (Of course, every book will have its reader. Every book has the potential to be "the one" for some reader. Not every book can be "the one" for every single reader.) Sometimes I think actual enjoyment is the last thing on the mind of the committee. Of course, enjoyment is 10000% subjective. So it makes sense as to why there have to be objective guidelines.

Questions:

Have you read this year's books?
Do you have a favorite from this year's honors and winner?
What expectations do you bring to a book?
Do you have a favorite (all years/any year) Newbery winner?
Which book would you have loved to see win this year?

Thursday, February 09, 2023

30. Iveliz Explains It All

Iveliz Explains It All. Andrea Beatriz Arango. 2022 [September] 272 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Why is it that principals
love giving second chances?
Love reminding me they were kids too?
Love acting like they're doing me a favor,
doing my mom a favor,
by sitting me down all serious
and asking what they can do?
Well, guess what.
This is seventh grade now,
And I don't need anyone's help but my own.
I've moved on from everything
that happened,
I've made lists and I've made goals,
and if I"m in the principal's office,
you can 100% bet
that it wasn't my fault.

Premise/plot: Iveliz Explains It All is a verse novel that is a Newbery Honor book. Iveliz is writing poems in her diary/journal. (As well as writing lists of goals in her diary). This coming of age novel unfolds a bit like a mystery. Readers aren't quite sure why Iveliz is always [or nearly always] getting in trouble at school, why she always has in-school suspension or actual suspension, why she struggles to keep friends or to make friends in the first place. Readers may not have the answers to these questions by the end of the novel, but, perhaps they will have walked in her shoes and gotten the chance to understand/empathize.

This verse novel is a "problem" novel. Iveliz, our heroine, is struggling with life in many ways. At home, she struggles to get along with her mother and her grandmother. Her issues with her mother are complex, for sure. Her issues with her grandmother are simpler. She has dementia and stays a bit out of touch with reality. But when she is "with it" if you will, she strongly disagrees with the decision that Iveliz is taking medication for her mental health. At school, she struggles with getting along with anyone/everyone. Even her friend(s) have a hard time dealing with her impulsive [sometimes violent] reactions.

My thoughts: I'm debating my thoughts and reactions. On the one hand, part of me is curious. What is her diagnosis? What exactly is going on with Iveliz? How strongly is it connected with the trauma that is revealed so incredibly slowly? On the other hand, is it really any of our business? Do we really have to know the specifics in order to be kind and compassionate and empathetic? We are not "owed" an explanation.

Is this one that will appeal to children? actual children? I'm curious--super curious. So often the books that do win Newbery awards or recognized as honor books don't necessarily appeal to actual children. [They appeal to adults--to teachers, to librarians, to parents.] They often feel "Significant" or "Important." I do think that at the very, very least this one would be a good fit for adults who work with children--teachers, librarians, principals, etc. I think it is a thought-provoking read in that regard. No person can know everything going on in the private, personal lives of their students. This gives a good, long pause. A reminder that so much can be going on underneath the surface.

Just because I feel adults might be a better fit doesn't mean that I think this one is inappropriate or out of place for younger readers. It's just a slightly heavy novel.

29. Princess of the Wild Sea

Princess of the Wild Sea. Megan Frazer Blakemore. 2023. [January] 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Three days after Harbor Rose turned twelve a boy washed up on the shore of Small Island. While many things had washed up there, only once before had a child.

Premise/plot; Princess of the Wild Sea is a looser adaptation of the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. There's a baby who's both "blessed" and "cursed" by aunties at a christening. She's a princess. There's a finger prick. There's sleeping...and eventual waking. But it isn't a close retelling or adaptation. It spins its own tale.

Harbor Rose is the 'princess' of the tale. She's raised on an island--a "hidden" island. Her family is trying to protect her from the curse, or so-called curse that is destined to come...

Peter is the 'stranger' that washes up on the island; he comes from a 'different realm' (a place called Kansas). The prophecy said he'd be 'the hero' there to save the kingdom/princess when the time was right...

My thoughts: While it isn't unusual for me to be confused at the start of a fantasy novel, it is unusual for me to be confused at the beginning, the middle, and the end. There wasn't any chapter where I wasn't shaking my head in absolute and total confusion. Comprehension consists of stringing events together and making sense of them as a whole. There was none of that. Could that be 100% me? yes.

What little I made sense of this one felt a bit agenda-ish. The 'Frost' enemies were created by not taking responsibilities for past wrongs, mistakes, sins, etc. A country who failed to recognize that they weren't "saving" the countries they were colonizing/conquering??? A country who failed to recognize the blood on their hands--figuratively and perhaps literally speaking--from their past wars and conquests. A country who hushes up "shameful acts" of the past. And there was some talk of how the 'Frost soldiers' could only be defeated by taking responsibility for the past and acknowledging it, etc. Another possible agenda being that this young girl--12? 13? 14? somewhere around there--is the hero of her own story and only she has the power to figure out the crisis and decide what is best. I don't have a big problem with that--as opposed to relying on a complete and total stranger from a strange land who knows absolutely nothing--but the plot twist that 99% of what Harbor Rose thought she knew about her life turning out to be a lie was odd to me. Her decisions seem to magically appear as if by instinct and luck...since she's clueless too.

Overall, I was too confused to ever enjoy the story.

28. Seven Percent of Ro Devereux

Seven Percent of Ro Devereux. Ellen O'Clover. 2023. [January] 320 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The only time I see Miller that summer, he's walking straight at me in a tuxedo. "Code red," Maren says, and tugs me sideways into the math hallway. School is quiet--a little over a week before the start of classes, only open this afternoon for senior presentations.

Premise/plot: Ro Devereux, the protagonist, has invented an app for her senior project/senior presentation. This app was designed to predict--or "predict" your future based on your answers to a lengthy questionnaire. The app is aptly named MASH. A nostalgic throwback to the game "Mansion Apartment Shack House." It's meant as a school project--a way to show what she is capable of as programmer/designer. She never meant it to be downloaded and used by a wider, broader base. Just a few classmates, a few friends. This app more of a hobby--plaything--than anything else. But when this app goes viral within a day or two...well...she's got millions of users and love-matches are beginning to pop up. Ro herself is matched...

A big company has interest in financing this trendy-viral social app...their condition is that Ro must be a spokesperson and show off how the app has matched her with her one true love.

The problem? Ro's match is her closest, dearest best, best, best friend from childhood. Someone she hasn't spoken to in several years--not since their BIG and oh-so-public fight at a party. Miller. Part of her regrets that they didn't make up after their big blow up--she was horrible to him. But she can't make him talk to her or text her back.

Will Miller agree to this super-fake relationship? A relationship that will put him in the spotlight and make him a social-media "celebrity"???

My thoughts: This YA romance is mostly light and fluffy. I did like Miller's character, for the most part. I liked him more than Ro if I'm honest. Ro seems a bit naive and silly. But then again, characters can only do so much with the plot they're given. A school project that goes viral within twenty-four to forty-four hours? Sudden celebrity? Being in high demand with all the major magazines, television programs, etc. It all seems a bit ridiculous. Ridiculous and predictable. Such is the stuff of movies and YA.

There's not anything wrong with predictable and formulaic...so long as readers know exactly what they're getting and are all in for it. Friends to enemies to friends to lovers. That's what you're getting.

This one offers some complexity in that it has a variety of side characters--including Miller's mom, Willow. Ro has MAJOR mom issues of her own so Willow has always been special to her.