When Stars are Scattered

 

by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

The only reason I picked this up was because I heard so many glowing reviews--I'm not really a graphic novel person, and I'm ashamed to say the subject matter didn't really sound all that riveting at first glance. Boy, was I wrong.

A true story, told by Omar, a young boy growing up in a Somali refugee camp in Kenya. His parents casualties of a war-torn country, he and his brother are sent to live in the camps and given a sort of surrogate mother to watch after them. Hassan has special needs, so when Omar is offered the rare opportunity to go to school, he's torn about leaving his brother who depends on him. That's just one of the gut-wrenching, inspiring, and unbelievable stories this book has to tell. I loved this. Not be be hyperbolic, but this one could easily go into the "life-changing" category.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

 

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Wow. I feel weird saying I "enjoyed" a book like this, but that speaks to the enumerable talents of Jason Reynolds--that he can take this topic, and actually make it something that you really look forward to picking up and reading again every time you put it down. Horrified, heart-broken, educated, enlightened. Puzzled, ashamed, shocked, sadly not-shocked. Simultaneously energized and defeatedly depressed. Lots of emotions here. Many have said this before me, but what an important book to have in our hands right now. 

Hey, Kiddo

by Jarrett Krosoczka

This couldn't have been an easy book to write. Jarrett's childhood is truly tragic on so many levels. The image of him curled up asleep in front of his grandparents' bedroom door because he was afraid was absolutely heartbreaking. As is often the case in situations like this, the "good guys" in the child's life may not be what others would consider to be positive influences. His portrayal of his grandmother, while mostly flattering, also gives an honest depiction of her darker side that sort of explains why this family is what it is. Kroscoczka doesn't seem to pull any punches. It was a hard story for me to read, and as much as I try, I struggle with a graphic format and it dragged a bit at times. But this book isn't for me. It's for the kids (lots of them) who are living this way right now. It's for the ones who might think they don't have a chance to escape their circumstances. And I love that it's a story told in pictures, which might make the message a bit more accessible to some kids.

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found

by Martin W. Sandler

I'm sort of obsessed with Cape Cod. So when I saw the Dallas Museum of Art had a $5 lecture last month about the recovery of the Whydah off the coast of Provincetown, I had to go check it out. It was amazing. THE VERY NEXT DAY, someone turned in this book at our library, and it ended up in my hands. (I guess I forgot about buying it!) Of course, I had to read it! The guy who did the talk at the DMA, Chris Macort, is even in some of the pictures!

I can't wait to share this with you guys next year when
you come to check out nonfiction. The Whydah (pronounced wid-dah), originally a slave ship, had already dropped off its human cargo and traded it for jewelry, gold, and more, before Black Sam Bellamy captured it. Then he proceeded to load it up with all sorts of goodies from other vessels. Then he stupidly trusted a guy that he had recently captured to lead them to safety in a storm, and ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Sandler gives us lots of info on pirate culture and breaks up some common myths. The last third of the book is about the recovery and conservation efforts, which are fascinating. (JFK Jr. was on the first dive team in the 80's!)

Informational, interesting, and a great length for middle school history buffs.

The Borden Murders

by Sarah Miller

Anyone who knows me at all knows I have a bit of an obsession with true crime, and this murder is one of the most famous unsolved cases in history. I really didn't know much about the story before reading this book, but I always sort of assumed Lizzie did it. Now I'm not so sure. The author did a great job keeping her own ideas out of the mix. The examination was completely impartial to either side, and at the end, you're really left still scratching your head. Unfortunately there's just not that much verifiable information on the case that has survived, so it felt a little like the author was stretching for material. The best part of the book was the end, as the author described Lizzie's life after the trial. She truly was a strange woman, and the Bordens were an unusual family. Did she do it? Maybe. But the results of the trial were fair. There was in no way enough evidence to convict her.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

These are the stories of the young men and women who were a part of Hitler's youth army. There is some background information about the group as a whole, but for the most part, the book focuses on the stories of a particular few. While I didn't feel I learned a lot of new information, I'm not the book's intended audience, so I think there are a lot of kids who would find this fascinating. It held my attention, but Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared, her fictionalized account of Helmuth Hubner's Nazi opposition, was much more engaging.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

by James Swanson

I love most things Civil War related, and this was a detailed and interesting account of the events that led up to Lincoln's assassination, and the chase that ended with Booth's death. While I definitely enjoyed it, it left me wanting a little more. I would have loved to have learned more about Booth himself. There's really very little information here about how he became such a radical for his cause, but in fairness, maybe that's a story for another book.

The Cod's Tale

by Mark Kurlansky

A short, pretty interesting overview of the history of cod and how it shaped civilization, from Vikings to modern day. I did learn a few things! The writing was a little choppy, though, and the little side stories and recipes, etc., in the margins didn't integrate well into the story.

El Deafo

by Cece Bell

When Cece was four, she had a serious bout with meningitis, and unfortunately lost much of her hearing. She chronicles the process by which her four year old self realizes she can't hear. It's equally fascinating and heartbreaking. But the majority of her story focuses on her upper elementary years, where she goes through a revolving door of friends, casting off those who talk to her too loudly, try to teach her sign language, and more. (Who can blame, her, though!?) One day, she realizes that the Phonic Ear, her fancy hearing aid, allows her to hear her teacher peeing in the bathroom, and she dubs herself El Deafo, creating for herself an alter ego with super hearing super powers!

This is the first graphic novel I've ever read where I forgot I was reading a graphic novel. The story and the images flowed beautifully. I alternately shook my head at Cece and cheered for her, but mostly, I laughed. A sweetly funny story with a real and flawed protagonist.The picture of Cece in elementary school at the end of the book would melt anyone's heart!

Night

by Elie Wiesel

This book has been on my "to read" list for a long time. Outside of Anne's diary, it's the quintessential holocaust story. Weisel jumps right in, spending very little time on occupation, taking us quickly into the story of his transport. He was able to stay with his father during his time in the camps. While this provides him some comfort, it also creates many stressful situations. I found this to be sort of the crux of his story. His never-ending, undying love for his father shapes his entire camp experience. That love influences all of his decisions, whether or not it endangers his own life. At one point during my reading, he almost seemed judgmental of others who did not make the same sacrifices for family, but brings this up himself at the end, and smooths out those rough edges for me as a reader. (Not that I would judge any holocaust survivor for anything, including judging another person, but it was an interesting aspect of the story for me.)

As far as holocaust stories that create a visceral response for me go, I found Diary of a Young Girl, Boy on the Wooden Box, and even The Boy Who Dared much more compelling. Those stories just interested me more. However, Weisel's writing is absolutely beautiful,and his wife's work on the translation is amazing.

The Fairy Ring

by Mary Losure

This could have been a great book, because it's a fascinating true story. In 1917, Frances moved to England to live with her older cousin Elsie and her family. One day the girls were playing in the field behind the house, and Frances swears that she sees fairies frolicking around. (Interestingly enough, even to her dying day, she maintained that her sightings were real.) On a whim, Elsie, who is an artist, draws a fairy, mounts it on a hat pin, and asks to take the family's camera into the field. (At this time, the camera is a new invention, and it's very complicated to get even one good photo.) They pretend the fairy photo is real, and show the photo to their family.They take a few more in this manner, and it eventually catches the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes novels. He believes they are real, and begins communicating with the girls, who are a little freaked out by all this attention. They become known nationwide. Some are believers, but others denounce the girls as frauds.

I loved the story. The fact that these girls caused such a ruckus with a painted fairy on a stick is hilarious. There were just a few areas that I felt needed further clarification from the author. Several times it seemed there had to be more to the story, but we, as readers, weren't getting it. A kind of cool read anyway, just to get the details on this famous hoax.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

by Leon Leyson

Wow. It's hard to find words to describe this book. Mr. Leyson's memoir chronicles his experiences in the Holocaust as a Polish Jew. His survival is nothing short of a miracle, and is due in large part to Oskar Schindler, Leyson's amazingly close family, some luck, and his incredible bravery and will to live. There were a few times while reading this book that I actually felt physically ill. We all know what happened in the Holocaust. We know what the Nazis did, and that it was horrible. But reading a first-hand account like this made it feel more real to me than it ever has. It's beyond horrible. We need to read books like this, so nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again. One part particularly stood out to me. At one point in his ordeal, Leyson asked the cooks to save the water they used to clean out the soup pots. (Soup consisted of water, salt, pepper, and a few slivers of potato skin.) He would take that water, and set it on the steam pipe in the factory. When the water evaporated, sometimes there would be tiny bits of dehydrated food left in the bottom. This, to him, was a treat, and this occurred during one of the brighter spots of his ordeal. Simply an amazing story.

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

by Georgia Bragg

This book is exactly what it sounds like it is--the stories of the deaths of famous people. The author recounts the morbid, weird, controversial, and fascinating deaths of 19 people, from King Tut to Albert Einstein. Warning: some of the things doctors used to do in the name of trying to cure people were pretty disgusting, and here those things are described in great detail. While the author does list an extensive bibliography, from which she researched, her qualifications as a historian are never listed, and a factual mistake in the Henry VIII chapter further places this book strictly in the entertainment category. A fun, interesting read, if you take it with a grain of salt.

A Wreath for Emmett Till

by Marilyn Nelson

Emmett Till had a problem with stuttering. When he was young, his mother taught him to whistle when he got nervous and wanted to slow down his speech. In 1955, he took a trip to the south from his home in Chicago, and was accused of whistling at a white woman. He was abducted, brutally beaten, and murdered. When his body was returned home, his mother insisted on an open casket, so the world could see what racism did to her baby. The white men were taken to trial, but acquitted of the crime. They bragged openly about the murder for the rest of their lives.

This is a short, powerful book of sonnets, written in a Heroic Crown, which means the last poem is a poem made of the first line of all the other poems in the book. Invest 15 minutes in this little book. It will touch your heart.

First Kiss (Then Tell)

edited by Cylin Busby

Summary: Popular young adult authors share their first kiss experiences. Some are funny, some romantic, and some just weird or gross! But they're all true, and give us an interesting little sneak peek into the lives of the authors as teens.

My thoughts: A light and easy read. Some of the stories were definitely better than others, but for the most part it was pretty cute. A few of the authors are men, and it was fun getting the teenage guy's perspective on kissing!

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith

by Deborah Heiligman

Summary: This is the true story--the love story--of Charles and Emma Darwin. Most people don't know that Charles Darwin's wife was a very spiritual and faithful woman. She was concerned about marrying him because she was afraid she would not see him in the afterlife, and she continued to be afraid of this throughout her life and after his death. Charles and Emma had a beautiful and complex relationship, balancing each other out and helping each other through the raising of seven children and the deaths of three. Charles did have doubts about God, and the deaths of his children didn't help this. He was not, however, an atheist, as most people believe. He was simply a man who had questions, and he dedicated his life to finding the answers. This book provides an unusual glimpse into the private life of a very public, and much misunderstood, historical figure.

My thoughts: Darwin's scientific research on the process of natural selection in species changed the way the world thought about creation. He was terribly nervous about publishing his theory because he knew it would offend many people. He was right, but he also had many supporters, and his ideas are now widely accepted as fact. Even during Darwin's day, people misinterpreted his theories. One in particular is the notion that he believed humans are descended from monkeys. He was very frustrated by this even while he was alive, because he simply believed that humans and apes have a common ancestor, not that we evolved from them. (Other scientists during his lifetime did make this claim, but not Darwin.) I really enjoyed reading about this family. I have always pictured Darwin as a gruff, stern, inflexible person. Instead, I learned that he was a sweet and shy family man with a great passion for science, and for humanity.