What a Change

Last summer I flew to Zambia.  There were a couple of stops and it took a grand total of 22 hours and 30 minutes.  Yeah, it was a long flight. At least I thought it was, until I read Tim Grove's First Flight Around the World.   It took 4 planes, each with 1 pilot and 1 mechanic 363 hours and 7 minutes to fly around the world-and that's just air time.  Counting all the stops and receptions they had to attend along the way the entire trip took 150 days.

150 days!!??  To us, that's crazy talk.  But at the time it set records, these airmen were the first to circumnavigate the globe, the first to cross the Pacific Ocean and the first to cross the China Sea.  They did all of this in planes that had open cockpits.  That's unthinkable!

Regular readers will know non-fiction is not my preferred genre, but First Flight Around the World  is the best type of non-fiction.  It's a story that is fascinating on it's own masterfully supplemented with pictures and quotes from journals/newspapers/etc. from that time period.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  It was the perfect mix of the technical, diplomatic, and personal aspects of the mission.  If you have any interest in aviation you should definitely read this book.

Winning...that's kids stuff.  

Boy and Dog

Regular readers of this blog, and anyone who has ever spent more than 5 minutes with me in real life, will know that I love dogs.  So when I saw one of the Reading Olympic's books had a dog on the cover, I knew I would probably like it.

Elvis and the Underdogs by Jenny Lee is a fun twist on the 'boy meets dog' story.  You see Benji isn't your normal boy.  He was born premature, is extremely accident prone, and he has a tendency to faint when under stress.  He misses a lot of school due to various illnesses so he tries to make himself scarce when he is at school. But more than that he is exceptionally smart and quick-witted (though half the time he doesn't realize he's being funny).  Just listen to how he describes the school bully Billy Thompson.

"Billy Thompson is my archnemesis.  The Lord Voldemort to my Harry Potter, the Tom to my Jerry, the Lex Luthor to my Superman, the Captain Hook to my Peter Pan, the walnuts to my brownies. (I'm allergic to all nuts, but walnuts especially, and seriously it makes no sense to add them to brownies anyway.  They're perfect just the way they are.)" 

One day Benji has an "episode" at school, which his doctors suspect was a mild seizure.  Until they can determine what's causing the seizures (and thus prevent another from happening) Benji has two options, wear a helmet or get a therapy dog.

Obviously therapy dog wins out and that's how Benji ends up with Elvis-a Newfoundland (aka a dog the size of a horse).  But Elvis' size is just the beginning.  He can talk!  Well, at least Benji can hear/understand him, everyone else...not so much.  When you bring an enormous talking dog to school it's kind hard to make yourself scarce.  That's when things really get interesting.

Finding a pack...that's kids stuff.  

Super....friend?

I think everyone has dreamed about having superpowers.  It just seems natural, once you see your first superhero movie or read your first fantasy you want to live that life-to be the hero.  But I don't think any of us ever dream about being the best friend of a superhero.  Sure, that would be kinda nice, you're in on the action, something amazing is happening in your life, but you're one step away...it's close enough to touch, but you can't hold it.  

Still... that's exactly what happens to Daniel in Matthew Cody's Powerless.  When his grandmother falls ill, Daniel and his family move to the town of Noble Green to help care for her.  Right away Daniel notices something suspicious about some of his new peers, but he can't place it.  Eric, Mollie, Rohan, they're all nice and welcoming to Daniel, but he feels like he's just missing something. 

When Daniel falls off a mountain only to be rescued by a flying Eric, he realizes he was missing something-these kids have powers.  Eric and Mollie can fly, Rohan has super senses, and they're not the only kids who have superpowers.  Daniel is thrilled to be in on the secret, but he can't help longing for powers himself. 

Here's the catch. Once the kids turn 13, they loose their powers.  Even worse-they have no memory of their powers.  It's like someone stole them.  

But does it have to stay that way?  What if Daniel can do more than stay on the sidelines?  Can someone powerless be a hero?  

Sleuthing...that's kids stuff.  

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

I don't believe it when people tell me they don't regret anything.  I think if we are honest with ourselves there is always something we wished we had done differently, or just as likely, something we didn't do that we wish we had.  Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War that Saved my Life shows what I think is one of the cruelest things imaginable, Ada's mother regrets having children.

She especially regrets having Ada since Ada has an ugly deformed foot.  Ada is forced to stay home, hidden away in one room.  At first it's ok because her little brother Jamie is there too, but when Jamie leaves to go to school Ada is left alone in her misery.  Until the day Jamie reports that all of the kids are going on the train out of the city because the war is coming.

Ada seizes her chance and that next day she and Jamie are on that train headed towards a new life.  They end up living with Susan Smith who never wanted kids and isn't particularly interested in caring for Ada and Jamie.  Is this any better than living with a mother who regrets them?  I mean it's called The War that Saved my Life so you can probably guess it's better...but the way it unfolds is just wonderfully told.

I loved reading this book.  The story was beautifully crafted and well told.  I especially liked this quote from Susan, " I don't know what to say...I don't want to tell you a lie, and I don't know the truth."  Such honesty is exactly what these kids needed.

Winning the war..that's kids stuff.  

Irony

So in case it's been awhile since you've been in a reading/english class, irony is when something happens (or is said) that is different from what you expected to happen.

Take Nikki Grimes Planet Middle School.  First, the title (I know, I know don't judge a book blah blah) it just seems like it's going to be silly and childish.  Second, it's poems...and we all know how I feel about poems.  Third the main character Joylin is a serious tomboy, she loves to play basketball-and she's good too.  That's all great but I'm pretty much the opposite of that so it could be hard to relate.

Irony! I loved it.   I mean I'm still not a huge fan of poems-I probably would have loved it more if it were prose but the story was great.  And though I'm the farthest thing from a tomboy, Joylin and I still have things in common.  Exhibit A: we hate math.

"End of the day, 

I lay my head

on my desk, 

faking the migraine

I'm certain

is on its way. 

Imaginary numbers? 

Come on!

Who dreams up this stuff? 

It's enough to make

anybody ill. 

I practically scream for joy

when the bell rings."

If I had to pick one good thing about poems it would be that you can read them quickly.  I was treated to a delightful story that could be finished in one sitting.  You know it's good because I could re-read it and pick up on new things.  It has depth. 

Finding your style...that's kids stuff.  

Besties

Debbie and Maureen were besties. Were being the operative word.  Somehow the girls have drifted apart.  Well, Gleena Flaiber may have helped with that.  Suddenly Gleena is always hanging out with Maureen and three people can't be besties-someone is always left out.

And that's how Debbie finds herself, All Alone in the Universe.  Lynne Rae Perkins effortlessly weaves the story of friendships fizzled then rekindled then fizzled again.  New friends are found in surprising-and not so surprising-places and Debbie grows up.

My favorite part is when Debbie describing songs in chorus class.  So here's a couple of quotes (bonus-I think these really capture Debbie's personality so this should help you decide if hers is a story you would want to read)

"My own voice is unexceptional but reliable, which is all anyone expects from an alto"

"After that we did 'Adoramus Te,' which makes everyone feel like a vocal champion because it's simple, and not too high, but sounds mysterious and holy and is in Latin." 

If you're not a music person you may not have enjoyed this quotes as much as I did.  But hopefully you liked Debbie. 

Finding your place in the universe...that's kids stuff.  

Wannabe

I love me a good dystopian young adult novel.  Hunger Games, Divergent, The Giver, Maze Runner, etc. etc. I like them all.  But the overwhelming popularity (and movie deals) of these books makes this genre ripe for imitators.  It's hard to feel original when so many books are focused on a society that looks perfect from the outside, but one young person sees it differently and it all starts falling apart.

Not that you can't, it just takes a little extra something to make your book stand out.  Unfortunately, David Stahler Jr's Truesight feels like an imitation.  When I was reading it my main thought was, "oh, so this is a wannabe Giver." The only difference is that in Jacob's colony (community) everyone is blind.

Jacob is nearing his 13th birthday and is going to get his specialization (ceremony of 12 anyone?) but he is nervous about it.  His parents, like Jonas' assure him that the council (elders) always does what's best for everyone.  But Jacob gets more and more apprehensive and what makes it worse is the realization that he is different from the rest of the community.  Even scarier-maybe he likes being different.

Though the overall plot felt referential, the special education teacher part of me did enjoy learning about all the accommodations this colony had in place to support their citizens.  Everyone is blind, but everyone wears a sounder tuned to a unique pitch that activates when you get close to another person.  School includes classes in mobility, and how to use a finder if you are lost. Sound becomes so much more important-which appealed to the musician part of me.

Truesight wasn't terrible, I just wanted it to be so much better.  This is the first part of a trilogy and I am a little curious as to how the story develops.  Maybe the next two installments are more unique.

Finding your sight...that's kids stuff.