Flight Behavior

Title: Flight Behavior

Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

I’ve never read anything by Barbara Kingsolver—a notable American author—and I was pleasantly surprised by Flight Behavior. It is a studious and meticulously rendered novel, filled with lush detail and description. However, the novel is far from stuffy, and it addresses cultural, gender, racial, and social issues in a relevant yet humorous way.

The story centers around Dellarobia Turnbow (what a name!), a mother and wife who has already reached her midlife crisis at the ripe old age of twenty-eight. She is spread much too thin, and doesn’t take much pleasure in her day-to-day life.

That is, until the butterflies.

In a single instant, Dellarobia’s life is switched upside down and she begins on a path of revelation and awakening. When a natural phenomenon involving Monarch butterflies occurs on the Turnbow land, Dellarobia is thrust into the spotlight and must confront her family, her community, and ultimately, herself.

In the end I loved Kingsolver’s way with words. She vividly paints a picture of the local culture of her native Appalachia. While many will either love or hate the ending, it only leaves a slightly bad aftertaste after devouring this delicious novel.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

Ready Player One is an exuberant novel that will appeal to kids, teens, and adults of all ages. Whether you like 80s pop culture, dystopic novels, high-tech thrillers, or a combination of all of the above, then this book is for you!

The story follows Wade Watts, who lives in a future American society that has collapsed. By day he struggles to stay alive by roaming the streets, fending off muggers, and avoiding his family. However, there is one bright spot in Wade’s life, and that is the OASIS, a completely interactive multi-player game. Created by an eccentric computer designer named James Halliday, the OASIS has become society’s crutch; millions, if not billions, of people escape to this world instead of confronting their problems in reality.

Suddenly, though, James Halliday dies. The vast amounts of wealth he earned then comes into question; namely, who will receive his fortune? It turns out that before he died, Halliday created a “game”, like a contest, and the first person to win this contest also wins his fortune. Sounds easy, right?

Wrong.

As Wade races to win the game, he also races against time to stay alive. Many people want to win this same contest, and they’ll stop at nothing to be victorious—including murder. The novel is extremely well-written, fast-paced, and the plot is totally unique. My favorite part of the novel was the characters, and their humor and camaraderie in the face of so many obstacles.

The only drawback in this story is that everything fits perfectly together like a jigsaw puzzle, which makes the story a little too neat and convenient. There is always some magic spell, potion, hint, or virtual weapon that one of the characters uses in order to help them advance in the game. All in all, besides this one fault, Ready Player One is fun, fresh, and innovative. 

Each Kindness

Each Kindness
by Jacqueline Woodson
5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Dawn

Summary:

Chloe doesn’t really know why she turns away from the new girl, Maya, when Maya tries to befriend her. And every time Maya asks if she can play with Chloe and the other girls, the answer is always no. So Maya plays alone. And then one day she’s gone. After Chloe’s teacher gives a lesson on how even small acts of kindness can change the world, Chloe knows exactly what she must do- show Maya some kindness. But Chloe must come to terms with the fact that Maya has moved away and she will never get the chance to show her an act of kindness.

Review:

This picture book packs powerful message- we don’t always get a second chance to do the right thing. The way that Chloe and her friends treat Maya is truly heartbreaking, but the reality is that children everywhere have to deal with this type of bullying on a daily basis. I think that the fact that this book does not end happy, with everything ok, will really resonate with readers. This is a great book to add to a bullying unit or to teach children the ramifications of bullying and what a little kindness can do to change the world.

Magic Kingdom for Sale — SOLD!

Magic Kingdom for Sale — SOLD!

Author/Artist: Terry Brooks
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reviewer: Todd

This is the story of Ben Holiday, a man who still laments over the loss of his beloved wife Annie and the child she carried. This loss took the better parts of him and left him slowly being dragged down into a deep depression. Having lost all his friends, save his best, to letting his connections to them die all it seems as if nothing will even give him the hope of recovery. Till an ad in a catalog sent to Annie catches his eye, Kingship of a Magical Kingdom. Against all good judgment, and the advice of his last friend he takes the chance that just might save him from self-destruction.

I’m going to be honest with you the first parts of the book feel as if they drag on, but they’re needed. The reader knows there’s a magic kingdom waiting for him to get to, but without the buildup we as the audience don’t know just how broken Ben has become. We wouldn’t be able to understand the person Ben is and was and who he has the potential to become.

Once we reach the kingdom of Landover the story picks up and the world is slowly shown to us as Ben learns of the kingdom and how it's slowly dying without a proper king. From that point Ben struggles to be the person, the King, that the people need. Even knowing that his efforts might result in his demise by forces who desire the Kingdom of Landover for themselves.

This book is about recovery, it's Ben and Landover's theme for this tale. But it shows recovery doesn't come just from one's self or from friends. It comes from having people be there for you, to have good friends who believe you you to help you restore your strength. And with that strength move forward, not just for them but yourself as well. How well Ben and the kingdom of Landover recover though? Well we'll have to read the series to find out.

The Fifty Year Sword

The Fifty Year Sword
Author: Mark Z. Danielewski
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Reviewer: Lydia

I wish I could begin this review with an insightful quote or a funny scene from this novel, but that is, in essence, impossible. Where do I even begin with this book? Mark Z. Danielewski is an innovative, experimental fiction writer with an affinity for colored text, unusual line spacing, and non-linear storytelling. Author of the critically acclaimed novels House of Leaves and Only Revolutions, Danielewski has continued to evolve in the style that has made him popular.

When boiled down to its barest elements, this is a ghost story at heart. For such a slim volume, this is indeed a creepy tale, which will send shivers and goosebumps up your arms. Danielewski’s writing is hard to follow at times, as the way the book is formatted breaks up the text, and ultimately, fragments the reader’s understanding of the story. His characters also tend to make up words, or combine existing words, into unintelligible phrases. Still, there are some gorgeous passages in here, like little hidden gems, and I even wrote some of these lines down because they were so beautiful.

All in all, The Fifty Year Sword is a fast read (easily completed in under an hour) that is interesting and drastically different from anything else on the market. However, even the funky layout and inventiveness of its author couldn’t save this tale from being too short, too confusing, and in the end, unsatisfying.

Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer Holm
5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Denise

Summary:Turtle in Paradise is a historical fiction novel that takes place in 1935 during the Depression Era. Eleven-year-old Turtle has to leave her mom in New Jersey and go to Key West, Florida to live with her aunt so her mom can work as a housekeeper for a woman who doesn’t like kids. Turtle is a bright and witty girl who knows how to get her way and her aunt and her cousins realize her spunk immediately when she surprises them at their doorstep. While living with them, she discovers family secrets and the differences between where she lived with her mom and where she is living now. The story really unfolds when Turtle discovers a treasure map.

Review:Turtle is a very likeable character from the very beginning of the novel. Her bluntness and intelligence adds honesty and heart to Jennifer Holm’s story. Without the main character’s personality, there could have been no adventure in the novel and my interest would have deterred.

The Death of Bees

The Death of Bees

By Lisa O’Donnell

4 / 5 stars

Reviewer: Nichole

Told from the points of view of the three main characters, this is an atypical book about two sisters in Glasgow, the dead bodies of their parents they buried in their garden, the elderly neighbor who decides to help them, and the massive web of lies and betrayal that fuse these three lives together forever.

Marnie and Nelly’s parents died.  But it’s okay, because they were horrible parents.  This is how you enter the book.

The girls wake up one morning and their father is dead.  The next day their mother hangs herself in their shed.  Fearful of authorities, they decide they have to handle everything on their own now, so they bury the bodies in the garden, plant flowers on top, and hope the neighbor’s nosy dog doesn’t dig them up and ruin everything.  This is a dark book, no question, but the absurdities like the dog digging up an arm and the rush to rebury it quickly makes this an odd, dark comedy.  You will cringe, you will ache, you will smile, but the bottom line is this book will make you feel strongly for the situations the characters are in.  And that, to me, is the making of a good story.

Marnie, Nelly and Lennie are all as different as can be, but deep down they are all lonely, damaged, and craving the love of a family unit that they are all lacking.  Marnie is harsh, brutal, shattered and falling quickly into the footsteps of her unloved mother while caring for her sister Nelly.  Nelly is a delicate prodigy, deeply in denial, awkward, and prefers to speak like she lives in a bygone era, which doesn’t make her popular among her peers.  Lennie is their elderly neighbor, a sad and lonely widower, ostracized by society for his homosexuality and a terrible mistake he made.  Together they take care of one another in ways their real families failed them, all while trying to dodge the drug dealers, truant officer, and long-lost grandfather threatening to unravel the mystery of the missing parents and tear the three of them apart.

This is a book fraught with tension, pain, and sometimes humor, but mostly it’s a journey where people you come to truly care about learn to sacrifice, do the right thing, and fight for what they believe in.  It’s bitter, in-your-face, and may challenge your notion of what makes someone good or bad, because there is bad in all of us.  Ultimately it’s about forgiveness, who deserves it and who does not.

Read this book when you have a few hours to sit down and devour it in its entirety.  It’s a fast read, not complicated, but you will remember these characters long after you finish the book.  And wish you knew them.