The Thing about Real Characters

When someone writes a book with realistic characters, it can be very hard to like them.  Everyone can be a jerk, right?  But for some reason many books have characters who are never jerks.  Or else we don't get to see that jerky part of them in the book.  Say What You Will has a main character, Amy, who is real.  And man, can she be a jerk.  So she is really unlikable.  Amy has CP and so I think a lot of authors would make her this perfect person, apart from her CP.  So super nice and understanding and a hero.  But Amy is human and real and I would say more on the "jerk side" than the "non-jerk side" as a human. Matthew is the other main character, he has OCD and is human, and doesn't really engage in any jerk behaviors, but he seems real, too.
This book took a lot of unexpected directions and was all very believable.  This was Cammie McGovern's first YA book and I really, really liked it.  Her other books, one for YA and one for middle grade are available on CD but not download so I probably won't read them, just because I find the CDs to be way too slow.  I like to listen to audiobooks on 2 or 3 times the speed, so I am out of luck until one of the downloadable sites get them!  Boo!  Because this book was very good (even with a jerky main character).

The Amazing Marcus

Sedgewick, I mean.  But if you have read midwinterblood or She is Not Invisible, you knew exactly which Marcus I meant. The audiobook download for She is Not Invisible wasn't available in the US when I wanted it, but I got it off amazing on CD and man, it was just excellent.  The narrator, Anna Cannings, read the book from Braille and there is a neat interview with her, conducted by Sedgewick at the end.  She has quite the impressive resume when it comes to voice work and man, you can see why.  She does an excellent, excellent job.  

It does help that what she is reading is such a good, good, good story.  

This is another one of those books that made me think, man, there are some super brilliant and gifted people out there and we're lucky when they take the time to share their gifts with us. 
The story is great.  And I learned a lot, too.  About Jung, Coincidence, the Pauli Effect.

Heart breaking and heart warming

Becoming Naomi León is a beautiful book.   Again it is another one of those books where after I read it, I just thanked God for the gift of such a talented author and her willingness and ability to share her stories with all of us.  This is the first book that I read by Pam Muñoz Ryan and right after I quickly picked up The Dreamer for a listen. It was incredible as well.  So I am looking forward to my next book from PMR.  

Becoming Naomi León is a story about a really rotten mother, a wonderful grandmother and a really, really neat kid and her brother.  The book takes place in both the US and in Mexico, in the city of Oaxaca, where the Night of the Radishes is held.  What a cool, cool thing!  I don't imagine I will ever get there, but maybe.  I could drive!  Actually, it might be cool to go for Día de Muertos!  

I'm a Little Baby

So I once knew this lady who had a son who was a tween when Nirvana's Loser song came out and I remember her telling me that he sang, "I'm a little baby, so why don't you kill me."
Anyway.  That just popped into my head.  All while I was reading Loser, which didn't take very long.  I don't know why I hadn't read it before, as I think that the Spinellis are a wonderful couple and wonderful writers.  And Loser was quite a beautiful little story, if sad.  It was hopeful.  Zinkoff is different from other kids.  But a wonderful kind of different and the book shows how important it is to remember that we all are special.  That God made us all with wonderful promise in mind. 

Another One I Finally Got Around To...

So B. It is another one of those books I picked up and put back down a million times.  I ended up with it because it was another one of those times I needed something to listen to and it was available from the library to download.  The narration, by Cherry Jones was awesome.  What a fantastic narrator she is.  The book is told from the POV of Heidi, the twelve year old daughter of a mentally disabled woman who says her name is So B. It.  She is homeschooled by a kind woman, Bernadette, who is agoraphobic and takes care of Heidi and her mom.  Heidi is a smart and good kid.  She wants to find her roots, as she knows nothing about where she came from or who she really is.  The story starts in Reno and travels to Liberty, NY, to a home for disabled folks, where So B. It lived for a short time.  Great story of love and home and who you are.  What a truly awesome book.

Clearly Judy-influenced

Take a look at the picture of LaShonda on the cover of The Cruisers #3 A Star is Born by Walter Dean Myers.  Tell me. I dare you to tell me that is not the spitting image of Judy on the cover of the best movie ever.  It struck me right away.
In this latest installment, LaShonda has been noticed by the Virginia Woolf Society for her wonderful costume designs and they want to send her to a special place to live and a special school.  LaShonda, though, lives in a group home with her little brother who has autism and she doesn't want to leave him.  That is the main problem in this third book and The Cruisers must find a way to help out their friend.
I am still not into this series as much as I want to be, but I love Myers and so I will keep on keeping with them.  I love the twist of Zander and Caren.  And all of The Cruisers are very likable friends.  The books make you think and they take on big issues.  I do recommend them.

Sharon Flake Can Do No Wrong!

Wow.  I love Sharon Flake, not just because she is from Pittsburgh, like me, but that is cool, but because she is just such an excellent writer.  I couldn't wait to read Pinned and I was not disappointed.  What a wonderful, inspiring, at times, heart-breaking novel.  
Autumn and Adonis are very different, but alike in many ways.  They both have a disability to live with:  Adonis was born without legs and Autumn has extreme difficulty with reading and math.  Autumn is in love with Adonis, but Adonis is stoic, a brave face, not needing anyone or anything but himself.  The thing is, they both need each other.  Autumn is a wrestler and a darn good one and so high school wrestling plays a big and important, interesting role in the book as well.  I recall watching a female wrestler at Hampton many years ago and can't imagine the strength it takes to be a wrestler, let alone a female one.
The main characters are so real, it reads like a real diary.  The secondary characters are interesting and important.  There's a lot going on in this little book.   
Fantastic book.  Will recommend to all and purchase for our library.  Can't wait until it is released so that I can book talk it.   

The Hurdles

As my final project for my class I read the book Blindsided. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Review it, talk about the main character, Natalie, came to deal with losing her eyesight in a sighted world, maybe. In any case, I am really glad that I read it and it gave me a new insight into those who are blind.

Natalie lives in a small town in Garrett County, Maryland. She has Juvenile Glaucoma and has been gradually losing her sight since the age of eight. I couldn't help but think of the nut job I know, the one about whom I posted in this post. She was from Garrett County, too. And she always thought she was going to lose her eyesight. Oh she went to the eye doctor all the time, I guess hoping that someone would tell her that she was going to lose her eyesight. When one doctor wouldn't tell her that something was wrong, she'd just go on to another, and then another and then another. She was that way with her feet, too of all things! Oh my feet hurt! Something is really wrong with my feet! First doctor couldn't find anything. Oh. I'll go to another! Second doctor couldn't find anything. Oh. I'll try another! How do I know this? I had to drive her everywhere! What a nut ball. Why would anyone LOOK for something to be wrong with them? Why? Oh well, it is just weird. One of her many big non-existant illnesses was self-diagnosed glaucoma. She should read this book. Or talk to someone who actually is or did lose their sight. Maybe then she wouldn't be so anxious to have a doctor tell her that something is wrong with her eyeballs!

If she would read this book she would realize that it's no picnic to lose your eyesight. It's not an easy thing to do, be blind in a sighted world. Natalie has a very hard time first accepting that she will lose sight. She doesn't want to learn Braille or learn to use a cane. And when she does become completely blind, she thinks she may just want to give up and hide back on her parent's farm.

I don't want to sound pithy, but I have to just say, this is the story of a girl with great courage, truly. It is inspirational and well done.

Rules are Rules

I've heard that a lot of places before but I don't know if it has an origin or it is just one of those things that everyone says, like, "You know what they say."

The last book I had to read for my class was Cynthia Lord's Rules.

Catherine is twelve years old and has a younger brother with autism. The the title of the book refers to the rules that she helps her brother learn as well as the rules that she makes for herself, to help them both navigate in the world. From "No toys in the fish tank." to "Solving one problem can create another." they are pretty good rules for everyone. She also has two guinea pigs, Nutmeg and Cinnamon and I remember starting to listen to this book years ago, but not finishing it because I was afraid that something terrible was going to happen to one of them. But nothing does. I guess that's a spoiler, but I think that it is one that people will appreciate.

I liked this book, but I didn't love-love it. I am not sure why. I think it was honest and true and the characters were great. I did REALLY dislike Catherine's new neighbor though. Catherine hopes that the new girl her age, who has just moved in across the street will be a good friend to her. Turns out she is more like Nancy Wheeler from the horrible Pre-Teen Sensations. The only thing that keeps Catherine's new neighbor from being able to join Margaret Manson and her gang of devil worshiping friends is that we get learn that she is upset over her parents' separation. She isn't just some rotten broad like those four dolts.

Catherine's story is a love story of sorts because love stories don't have to be the traditional kind. It is a love story between a brother and a sister. Catherine really loves her brother, but he is hard to live with sometimes. She feels guilty for considering her life with him to be difficult, knowing that his life is rough, too.

Catherine meets Jason, a young boy about her age at her brother's OT clinic and the two begin a relationship. Jason is in a wheelchair and can't speak, but uses a communication book to communicate. Catherine draws more words for his book.

This is a book great for discussion, full of depth, yet simple, but not in a bad way. I'm glad I read it. And glad the guinea pigs didn't die!