Li'l Sissy and her brother and sister spend a summer growing corn and lima beans and okra and tomatoes and onions and more with their Uncle John in hiLi'l Sissy and her brother and sister spend a summer growing corn and lima beans and okra and tomatoes and onions and more with their Uncle John in his city garden. The pictures are captivating and it's a story that may inspire children to start urban gardens of their own....more
Willie is seven and wants to be a dancer. His sister, Emma, is eleven and she wants to be a lawyer. But the parents of Emma and Willie don't like the Willie is seven and wants to be a dancer. His sister, Emma, is eleven and she wants to be a lawyer. But the parents of Emma and Willie don't like the children's dreams and they are doing everything they can to force the children to do what the parents want them to do.
How can the children proceed?
Emma tries to research children's rights and soon learns they have none. Then she joins a group that advocates for children but that turns out to be a dead end, too.
Finally Emma comes to a realization that if her family isn't going to change then she must be the one who changes.
A thoughtful book, originally published in 1974, in which children grapple with difficult problems and come to figure out a good way to address them....more
Savannah tries to live by her family's focus on greatness and service, but too often she feels that she is a duck out of water amid the achievements oSavannah tries to live by her family's focus on greatness and service, but too often she feels that she is a duck out of water amid the achievements of the rest of the Cade clan. Savannah works for a publishing company committed to only the most literary of the most literary, but in her spare time she is writing a romance novel. When she struggles with her novel, she gets unexpected help from a mysterious editor who has also found refuge in Savannah's favorite hideaway, a hidden turret room of the Victorian office. But who is this mysterious editor? And why does Savannah feel so drawn to him?
I easily figured out all the unknown elements in this story, and I knew where the story was going, but my enthusiasm for the characters and the plot and the humor and, of course, the bookish setting, never faltered. Deep meaning? Important message? Poetic writing? No, but if you enjoy the gentlest of rom-coms, you will like this little book....more
Oh, Anne Tyler, you get people like no other writer. You see their vulnerabilities. You see their (sometimes hidden) strengths despite their (blatant)Oh, Anne Tyler, you get people like no other writer. You see their vulnerabilities. You see their (sometimes hidden) strengths despite their (blatant) weaknesses. And you share these with us, tenderly.
The Garrett family is the central cast in this book. Mom and dad and their kids and their kids. A story that goes through several generations. It starts with a scene between one of the grandkids of the story with her boyfriend. She sees a man she thinks might be her cousin, and her boyfriend is struck by this, finding it odd that she doesn't even recognize her own cousin. And the story draws on this, the connections between family members, their disconnections, their own varying perceptions of their relationships. It's completely fascinating.
Oh, and what does the title have to do with the plot? It was almost at the end before David was having a conversation with his wife about French braids, how his daughter wore them and when she undid the braids, her hair would still be in ripples for hours and hours afterward. "That's how families work, too. You think you're free of them, but you're never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever." Lovely.
During the pandemic, children's author/illustrator Sophie Blackall started a list of 52 things to look forward to, with illustrations. This is that liDuring the pandemic, children's author/illustrator Sophie Blackall started a list of 52 things to look forward to, with illustrations. This is that list. It's aimed at grownups.
Oskar is wandering the streets of Vienna in search of the perfect gift for Mama. He finds a rose and he buys it---perfect! And then he runs across an Oskar is wandering the streets of Vienna in search of the perfect gift for Mama. He finds a rose and he buys it---perfect! And then he runs across an artist who begs him to trade the rose for a paintbrush, and Oskar does---perfect! Next arrives a conductor who desperately needs the paintbrush for a baton and offers a tune---perfect!
On and on the story goes until it comes to a complete circle and Oskar is back with the rose again---perfect!
A completely satisfying story that shares a little bit of Vienna with us all....more
Abuela has loved Niña from the moment she was born. The two spend a lot of time together. Abuela decides she wants to buy Niña a very special gift andAbuela has loved Niña from the moment she was born. The two spend a lot of time together. Abuela decides she wants to buy Niña a very special gift and she starts setting money aside to do that. But much time goes back and the money becomes worthless. What can Abuela do now?
Oh William is the story of Lucy Barton and her two husbands, especially her first, William. Lucy also shares stories about William's three wives and WOh William is the story of Lucy Barton and her two husbands, especially her first, William. Lucy also shares stories about William's three wives and William's mother.
Oh William is a sequel to My Name is Lucy Barton, and my first thoughts after finishing this book are that I like Oh William much more than I liked My Name is Lucy Barton. While I was reading, I kept thinking about how realistic the actions and the voices of the characters are; the characters do and say things that are both anticipated and are surprising, and that's how people really are, I think. The other thing I like very much about this book is the insight into humans that it brings to me. Lucy and William and William's mother all reach old age, and all three of them come to different ways of coping with the trials of life. It is interesting for me to think about which of the three finds a better way of dealing with troubles than the other two....more
Sejal, Mommy, and Pati travel to the spot in India where three oceans meet. Each has a goal for the journey. As they travel together, the three eat toSejal, Mommy, and Pati travel to the spot in India where three oceans meet. Each has a goal for the journey. As they travel together, the three eat together, shop in the markets, and spend time with their friends. The story culminates in their arrival, together, at the spot where the three oceans meet.
Beautiful story that resonates even more deeply with me after a second and third reading....more
A young girl is resentful that children from their neighborhood get to stay in her family's living room on a special cot while their parents go to worA young girl is resentful that children from their neighborhood get to stay in her family's living room on a special cot while their parents go to work while she has to sleep in a tiny bedroom with her snoring sister. Until she experiences what it is really like to sleep on the cot......more
A girl and her family stop suddenly along the side of the road to collect watercress. The girl is deeply embarrassed to be seen gathering weeds and shA girl and her family stop suddenly along the side of the road to collect watercress. The girl is deeply embarrassed to be seen gathering weeds and she does not want to eat it after it is prepared as part of the meal. But then the girl's mother reveals a story about her childhood in China, and the girl's perspective shifts and changes.
Let me be honest: I put off reading this book for a long, long time. Why? I loved Merci Suárez Changes Gears so much, and I am always disappointed witLet me be honest: I put off reading this book for a long, long time. Why? I loved Merci Suárez Changes Gears so much, and I am always disappointed with sequels. I just didn't want to be disappointed.
Maybe I'm not always disappointed with sequels. The truth is that Meg Medina did a fabulous job with this sequel. Merci Suárez Can't Dance equals or, maybe, even exceeds Merci Suárez Changes Gears.
Of course there are the same great characters from book #1, but these characters, like all good characters, are continuing to change, are evolving, growing, facing new challenges, struggling, sometimes slipping and doing the wrong thing, and finally moving forward despite the terrible consequences of doing so.
I'm so glad I read this new book about Merci. Frankly, I'd welcome another sequel about this wonderful group of people, and I never thought I'd say that....more
The mother-daughter dynamic is a slow and careful walk, holding hands, across a shaky bridge over the abyss. During the teen years, the hands are ofteThe mother-daughter dynamic is a slow and careful walk, holding hands, across a shaky bridge over the abyss. During the teen years, the hands are often dropped and the bridge is generally missing whole sections.
Crying in H Mart is the story of Michelle Zauner's fraught relationship with her mother. Her mother is seen as demanding, petty, unrelenting. Michelle is described as a difficult child. Their relationship is turbulent. The two find moments of peace together through the common bond of their deep love for Korean food.
And then Michelle's mother gets sick. And then she dies. And Michelle is allowed, finally, to cry, to weep, to wail.
Crying in H Mart is a story anyone who has battled with a parent, anyone who has tried to connect with a parent, anyone who has lost a parent can read and love. The writing is vivid, fresh. The stories are completely new while also feeling common to all of us. Zauner does go on a bit too much (for me) about food; at times, I got lost in the detail and in my unfamiliarity with the foods described. But the emotional connection with this book is powerful and evocative and, oddly, healing....more
Theo Ripley is going on vacation. With his sister. And his father. And they are going to Big Bend, the least popular national park.
Theo is not thrillTheo Ripley is going on vacation. With his sister. And his father. And they are going to Big Bend, the least popular national park.
Theo is not thrilled.
The trip to Big Bend is everything a family trip is known for: fighting between siblings, fighting between parent and child, boredom during the long car ride, more fighting.
After they arrive, the family faces more challenges---scorching heat, long hikes, getting lost, meeting annoying fellow tourists, and even a bear standoff. Then Theo's dad reveals his surprise, and everything goes crazy.
Theo and all the characters in this story are so real you will swear you know them. They make the story with their quirks and obsessions.
It's a story that is both amazingly fun and deeply serious. Delightful. I can see this being a Texas Bluebonnet selection. ...more
The summer was supposed to be so different, but instead of Peyton and her best friend finding their perfect first boyfriends together and working togeThe summer was supposed to be so different, but instead of Peyton and her best friend finding their perfect first boyfriends together and working together, Peyton's friend will be elsewhere.
Then Peyton discovers an unconscious boy lying on the road. She saves his life by alerting the authorities and she finds she has a curious attraction to the boy, Gray, lying in a coma in the hospital. Gray, Peyton decides, will be her perfect first boyfriend. And it will be she who discovers the identity of the person who hit him and fled the scene.
Crashing in Love is a surprisingly complex story of a girl sorting out her feelings about her parent's divorce, her precarious friendship with her BFF, and her quotes designed to keep her life safe from emotional disaster....more
Elizabeth tells the story of her year in a diary kept while she and her family lived on her husband's estate in the country. Elizabeth gently mocks heElizabeth tells the story of her year in a diary kept while she and her family lived on her husband's estate in the country. Elizabeth gently mocks her husband, her friends, and others she knows as she tells how she made efforts to create a beautiful garden.
A few samples from the book:
"...if Eve had had a spade in Paradise and known what to do with it, we should not have had all that sad business of the apple."
"Happiness is so wholesome; it invigorates and warms me into piety far more effectually than any amount of trials and griefs, and an unexpected pleasure is the surest means of bringing me to my knees. In spite of the protestations of some peculiarly constructed persons that they are the better for trials, I don't believe it. Such things must sour us, just as happiness must sweeten us, and make us kinder, and more gentle."
'"I hope you are not going to be ill," said Irais with great concern, "because there is only a cow-doctor to be had here, and though he means well, I believe he is rather rough." Minora was plainly startled. "But what do you do if you are ill?" she asked. "Oh, we are never ill," said I; "the very knowledge that there would be no one to cure us seems to keep us healthy."'...more
Cleveland Rosebud Potts wants to leave her insipid town of Sassafras, Florida for the bright lights of Paris, France. She's just in seventh grade but Cleveland Rosebud Potts wants to leave her insipid town of Sassafras, Florida for the bright lights of Paris, France. She's just in seventh grade but she knows what she wants and what she doesn't want. And what she doesn't want is to stay in a small town where she is shunned and shamed because her father stole from his employer and was put in jail, where her mother has to work extra to pay for the costs of getting a lawyer, where her older sister works hard to put back money into a college fund to try to go to her dream college next year, where her friend is bullied for being gay. Cleveland has put together a list of things to do to enable her to go to the American School in Paris, and she's already started working on these things. She knows if she can just accomplish them she will get out of this place.
I don't see that many stories about working-class people for children, and this is one of the best I've read. Cleveland's dad is in jail, and that is an experience a lot of children have. The book explores the feelings of children who have a parent in jail and the situation is resolved in a realistic and hopeful way. The hard work of the family is rewarded and the love the family members have for each other is apparent....more
Kestrel and her family don't fit in. Aramanth is run by tests and ratings and rankings, but neither Kestrel or her brother, Bowman, or her sister, babKestrel and her family don't fit in. Aramanth is run by tests and ratings and rankings, but neither Kestrel or her brother, Bowman, or her sister, baby PinPin, or her parents like these ways of doing things. Kestrel rebels and her entire family is punished, and, after an odd meeting with the emperor, is off to save her country by restoring the voice of the Wind Singer.
The Wind Singer is that elusive fantasy novel---serious and thoughtful, but also light and silly. The whole Hath family is jolly and fun, even in the midst of disaster. The image of the emperor who can't rule or take any action to improve his country because he can't bear to leave his dish of chocolates is fascinating. Lovely story.
The Peachey family is having fun preparing meals until Pa Peachey decides to start baking. His baking is generally a fail, and the family’s dog, McTavThe Peachey family is having fun preparing meals until Pa Peachey decides to start baking. His baking is generally a fail, and the family’s dog, McTavish, ends up with most of it smuggled to him from unhappy tasters under the table.
Then Pa Peachey gets the idea to enter a baking contest. After days of hard work, his entry is another disaster. Can McTavish save the day?
Clever dialogue (without being overly rude) among the family members. And a dog who is the cleverest one in the family....more
Phyllisia has just moved to Harlem from the West Indies, and she is harassed and bullied by her classmates for the way she talks and for being a teachPhyllisia has just moved to Harlem from the West Indies, and she is harassed and bullied by her classmates for the way she talks and for being a teacher's pet. She wants to make a friend, but the only one who will be friends with her is a desperately poor girl named Edith. Edith does befriend Phyl, and, with Edith's support, the bullying is stopped, and things get better for Phyllisia. But at home Phyl has problems, too, with a dad who strictly disciplines Phyl and her sister, and a mom who is very ill.
The Friends is a cruelly honest depiction of life for a young girl, new to New York, with family troubles, who is made stronger and better through a friendship with a girl who has deep troubles of her own.
Deb (Readerbuzz)
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