Teen/YA Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

I’ve wanted to read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs ever since its release in 2011. Now, there are two sequels to complete the trilogy and a movie coming out on September 30! So, I’m glad I finally had a chance to read this popular and well-received book. It is, without a doubt, the most unusual – peculiar? – book I’ve ever read! But this teen/YA supernatural fantasy is also suspenseful and compelling.

Sixteen-year old Jacob grew up listening to his grandfather’s fantastical stories of growing up among monsters. According to Grandpa Portman, he’d had to leave Poland at age twelve to go live in an orphanage in Wales, with enchantments to keep its young residents safe from monsters. Oddly, Grandpa claimed that the other children in the home had all kinds of special powers, making them what he called “peculiar.” Grandpa even had a box of old snapshots that he shared with Jacob of his old friends: an invisible boy (which looked like an empty suit of clothes in the photo), a girl levitating off the ground, and a brother and sister so strong they could lift boulders in the air with ease. There were plenty more crazy photos, with an even crazier story accompanying each one.

Jacob fully believed everything his grandfather told him when he was young, but when classmates began teasing him about believing in fairy tales at school, he gave up his childish beliefs. He asked his dad about Grandpa’s stories, and he explained that they were just exaggerations, built on a horrible childhood. There had been real monsters then – the Nazis – and his dad explained that the children’s home in Wales probably seemed like a paradise and safe haven compared to Poland at the time. He further guessed that the childrens’ only real peculiarity was their Jewishness back then.

When a family tragedy occurs, Jacob and his father head to Wales to find out more about Grandpa’s childhood. Although his dad is more interested in the unusual birds inhabiting the small island off the coast (he’s an ornithologist), Jacob explores on his own. He finds the old house on the deserted side of the island, crumbling and decrepit, and digs through it for clues to his grandfather’s time here. He finds more odd photos and even his grandpa’s old room. Oddest of all, though, is the possibility that some of the same children might still be here, in hiding.

I won’t divulge any more of the plot (and was careful to stay away from spoilers even in this brief synopsis) because one of the delights of this unique book is in uncovering its secrets one by one. Jacob’s explorations become more and more dangerous, as he digs into the secrets of the past…and the present. The climax of the story coincides with an enormous storm hitting the island, adding to the suspense.

Back cover of Miss Peregrine's Home...

I haven’t yet mentioned the most amazing and unique thing about this book. The photos – that Jacob’s Grandfather shows him and that Jacob later finds in the house – are real. Real-life real. The author found them by scouring through thousands and thousands of vintage photographs and includes several dozen of them in the book, to illustrate the story. He basically discovered these unusual photos and then built the story around them, a fact that made the book all the more fascinating to me.

Reading this supernatural fantasy tale is a singular experience, and I found myself studying each photo as it appeared. I was also completely engrossed in the original story and was rooting for Jacob to find some answers for himself. The novel is full of adventure and suspense, supernatural surprises, and a bit of magic, but it is all wrapped up in a gripping story of a modern teen, trying to come to terms with his family history and his own place in the world. I loved every minute and can’t wait to read books two and three…and see the movie, of course!

348 pages, Quirk Books

I was going to include the movie trailer here in my blog post, but I think it gives away far too much of the plot, if you haven’t read the book yet. So, go enjoy the book first (before September 30)!

If you have already read the book, check out the movie trailer at this link. It looks like they’ve taken a few liberties with the story, but Tim Burton is the director, so he adds his own brand of magic.

Middle-Grade Graphic Novel Review: Bera the One-Headed Troll

I started reading graphic novels a few years ago and have enjoyed them very much. It’s nice to be able to squeeze a short book into the cracks between my longer reads and linger over the pictures. Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard (I believe the first graphic novel by this picture book author/illustrator) is a fun, unique, and warm adventure story for middle-graders about a humble, kind-hearted troll.

Bera the troll is a bit ugly-looking, with her sharp teeth, pointy ears, and pupil-less eyes, but she has a big heart. She lives on a small island all by herself, with her owl, Winslowe, for company. She is the official pumpkin gardener of the Troll King and is just finishing up her annual harvest of pumpkins when the story opens. After seeing off the foxes in a boat that came to deliver her harvest to the King, Bera hears a strange wailing sound. She follows it to the other side of the island and discovers a human baby floating in a pot, being fought over by some cruel mermaids (yes, in this story, mermaids are ugly, nasty things).

Bera finds out that the evil Cloote, former Head Witch of the Troll King, is after the baby, so she decides to keep the human baby safe. She doesn’t know what to do with a human baby and is only a humble pumpkin gardener, so she and Winslowe travel across the water to the main islands to consult Wulf the Dragon Master, even though Bera has never been off her tiny island before. She and Winslowe – with the baby – set off on their adventure, seeking the expert advice of one legendary hero after another.

Bera and Winslowe continue their quest to return the baby to the human village, even though one hero after another seems unable to help. Little by little, Bera realizes that maybe she is the hero this baby needs, as they continue traveling. The threesome encounters all sorts of dangerous creatures and even gets some unexpected help (my favorite good guys are the hedgehog brothers). The ending is very satisfying.

A page from Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard

Bera makes a wonderfully unexpected, kind heroine. I loved her right from the start! It’s a very creative story that the author says was inspired by Norse fairy tales and illustrations by Arthur Rackham and Maurice Sendak. The pages of the book are covered with imaginative drawings, done mostly in shades of brown, with some occasional splashes of yellow. I enjoyed this delightful graphic novel from beginning to end. It’s the best kind of adventure story, where the hero doesn’t know she’s a hero and discovers herself on her journey.

This book is labeled for ages 7 – 10 and might work well as a read-aloud for slightly younger kids, too.

126 pages, First Second Books

TV Tuesday: The Last Ship

Summer is kind of a low season for TV - especially this year with Graceland cancelled (one of my favorites) - but there is one summer show that we love. The Last Ship just came back for its third season, and it just gets better and better, with an intriguing & unique story, high drama, and a great cast.

The Last Ship begins with a viral pandemic outbreak. The show follows the crew of a Naval Destroyer called the Nathan James, which was on a top-secret research mission in the Arctic when the pandemic hit. In fact, their mission, unbeknownst to them, involved the virus that caused the pandemic. On board their ship is Rachel Scott, a world-famous virologist who needed to go to the Arctic to look for a primordial version of the virus in order to create an effective vaccine. By the time that mission is complete, the whole world has gotten sick, and chaos has broken out.

Rachel finally tells the captain, Commander Tom Chandler, played wonderfully by Eric Dane (who could have guessed that McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy would make such a good military man?), what's going on, both with their mission and with the rest of the world. By now, millions of people have died, including the U.S. President and Vice-President, and Rachel's goal to create a vaccine has become even more important. Having been completely isolated in the Arctic, the crew of the Nathan James is healthy and not at risk as long as they stay out at sea. So, now they are a floating crew of survivors, tasked with nothing less than saving the world.

It's not as simple as Rachel just doing her work to create the vaccine, though, because chaos and anarchy are in full force all over the world. There are evil forces that want to capture Rachel and the vaccine for themselves and keep it from the rest of the world. Most of that happens in the first episode or two! From then on, it is a fight to survive...and to save the world.

My husband and I both love this show. It is an intriguing plot, with lots of twists and turns and plenty of action and suspense. The cast is incredible, and you quickly grow to care about them. The second-in-command, XO Mike Slattery, is played by Adam Baldwin. Plus, there is a full crew of excellent actors. This is truly an ensemble show, though I haven't had any trouble keeping track of the characters. The overall quality of the show is excellent, from the very first episode through the current third season, in which the world has changed dramatically, but the Nathan James is still of central importance. We can't wait to see what happens next!

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Last Ship are available on Hulu (with subscription), through Netflix DVD service (not but streaming), and on Amazon Prime for $1.99 an episode or $14.99 a season. Our Cable on Demand currently has the last 5 episodes of season 2 and all episodes so far (5) of season 3, as does the TNT website.

Movie Monday: Twinsters

Two weeks ago, ALONE in the house for an unheard-of four days, I was choosing a movie to watch. I decided to choose a documentary because it's been a long time since I'd watched one. I found Twinsters on Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed this fateful, mind-bending true story.

Samantha Futerman, a 25-year old actress living in L.A., had had a few significant TV and movie roles and had a growing following for her YouTube videos. In 2013, across the world in France, some young people were enjoying one of Samantha's videos when they noticed that she looked exactly like their friend, Anais Bordier. They watched more of the videos and showed them to Anais; the whole group was astounded by how much the two young women looked alike. Anais did some online searching and discovered that she shared a birthday with Samantha - November 19, 1987 - and that, like her, Samantha was adopted as a baby from South Korea.

Anais reached out to Samantha online - tentatively at first - and the two women began getting to know each other via video chats. The similarities between them were startling, even though Samantha had grown up in America and Anais in France. They contacted an agency that helps adopted children  find their birth parents and found a specialist on twins within the organization who recommended DNA testing, in addition to the adoption research. Eventually, the two young women and their families and friends met face-to-face in London, while they waited for the results of their DNA tests.

I won't give away how it ends, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable journey to watch these two young women get to know each other and find out more about their backgrounds. Samantha and Anais are both very sweet, endearing women, and watching them unravel the secrets of their lives is a joy.

Samantha wrote the documentary herself, and she and her friend, Ryan, directed it. Much of it is put together from real-time video chats between her and Anais, and videos friends and family took when they met. It's a charming and joyful (and fascinating) 90-minute documentary, perfect if you are looking for something light and life-affirming.

Twinsters is available free on Netflix or for $2.99 to rent on Amazon Prime.

It's Monday 7/11! What Are You Reading?

Ahhh...we enjoyed a lovely few days last week at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, one of our favorite places (see my Saturday Snapshot with photos from past visits) - it's a gorgeous park with such varied terrain - waterfalls, forests, rocks, and amazing views. It was wonderfully cool up on top of the mountain (as opposed to at home, where it was super hot and humid). We took two short hikes to incredible viewpoints and enjoyed some downtime camping...with lots of time for reading! Photos to come on Saturday. I also met up with an old friend who I've known since first grade & hadn't seen in over 30 years - lots of fun!

So, lots of reading last week but very little blogging:

• While camping, I finished Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. This engrossing nonfiction book won the 2012 National Book Award and was on the NY Times Top 10 List for 2012. It was chosen as the All-Freshmen-Reads book when my son started college 4 years ago, and I've been meaning to read it ever since. It lived up to its hype - and more. It's a beautiful narrative story set in the slums of Mumbai that reads so much like a great novel that I had to keep reminding myself that it was real and these were real people. Stunning & powerful - highly recommended.
• Next, I started another book group selection, Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson. I have never read this award-winning novel before (though I saw the movie adaptation years ago), even though it's been on my Kindle for years. It's a very descriptive novel about a Japanese-American man accused of murder in the years after the Japanese Internment and the events leading up to that time. It takes place on an island off the coast of Washington, and the setting is vividly described, almost like another character in the story. I'm enjoying it so far. 
• I am listening to The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice, a teen/YA novel about one of two sisters who is paralyzed in a car crash and has locked-in syndrome. It's good so far, though I didn't listen to it at all while we were away. I'll get back to it today.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. This was the first Follett novel I ever read (many decades ago), and I think I have read it 2 or 3 times by now. I couldn't believe my husband had never read it before. It's an excellent spy thriller that was later made into a very good movie. He enjoyed it and now wants to watch the movie again!
• Ken had to choose his next book from what was already downloaded onto his Kindle (no WiFi in the woods!), so he started reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, a book I enjoyed for book group last year (my review at the link) and heard the author speak for our local library's All-County Reads program this spring. He's been wanting to read it for a while. This is unusual, both of us reading nonfiction this month!
• I have no idea what our 21-year old son read last week while away on his grandparents' sailboat, but I know he enjoyed some free time for fun reading finally! Summer classes start today.

Just one blog post last week, other than Monday's:

Fiction Review: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, a classic novella that surprised me

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

There is still plenty of time to join the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge - two months of summer left! Just click the link to read the rules - super-easy for summer! You only need to read one "big book" (400 pages or more) before September to participate. Join the fun, choose your Big Book(s) & sign up today!

Fiction Review: The Metamorphosis

I signed up for the 2016 Classics Challenge this year, with the goal to read a classic every month. Suddenly, it was June, and I had not yet read a single classic! June was already filled with reading obligations for book groups and reviews, but I was determined to fit one in. I chose the shortest classic on our bookshelves, The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka, a novel that both our sons had read in their senior year of high school World Lit class. They’d both enjoyed it (even the one who says he doesn’t like to read), and I’ve never read Kafka before. I found this short novella surprisingly engrossing, clever, and even funny.

Hearing about the plot of The Metamorphosis before (a man turns into an insect), I’d always imagined some sort of lengthy, grotesque change process that took most of the novel to complete. Nope. In the first sentence of the first page, it simply says, “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” That’s it. Metamorphosis complete.

The interesting part isn’t the change itself (which is never explained) but what happens next. The author simply imagines, “what would happen if one day you woke up and were a giant bug?” (some experts say Gregor turns into a cockroach; others say the translation implies a bedbug; some say just a general beetle). It’s an interesting line of thinking. First, Gregor must himself realize what has happened and get used to his new body. He can scamper across the walls and ceiling but can’t open his bedroom door. He is understandably worried about being late to work that first morning (cue tongue-in-cheek humor).

Soon, Gregor must also deal with the reactions of his family members. A young man working as a salesman, he lives with his mother and father and sister. First concerned that Gregor is unwell because he hasn’t gotten up yet, they soon discover what has happened and then vacillate between concern and disgust. Interestingly, no one really wonders how this bizarre thing happened. Soon, their worries grow because Gregor was the main breadwinner in the household. His retired father must return to work, his mother and sister take in sewing.

Through all this family drama, Gregor is still a giant bug and must deal with the problems of daily existence. His sister thoughtfully leaves food out for him on the floor of his room, but he doesn’t find that kind of food very appealing. His room becomes filthy because no one wants to come in and clean it. He loses his job quite quickly after a visit from his boss that first day. Gregor simultaneously worries about the effects of his strange predicament on his family, as well as the practical concerns of learning how to live as a giant bug in his bedroom.

I think you can see, even from this brief synopsis, that the absurdity of the situation – and the very straightforward way both the author and the main character consider it – lends itself to humor. To this mix, Kafka adds his dry, witty way of describing scenes that are completely fantastical in perfectly normal tones. It’s not just a comedy, however. It’s a tragedy as well, as Gregor adjusts to his new life and realizes he’s probably not ever going back to his old form. In this way, Kafka somehow manages to explore human emotions (both in Gregor and in the responses of those around him) through the guise of a giant insect. I found the combination both thoughtful and a lot of fun to read, and I thoroughly enjoyed this wholly unique story told in such a calm, even way. The Metamorphosis was a pleasant surprise for me, thoroughly entertaining and compelling. At less than 60 pages, I bet you have time to read this classic novella, too!

55 pages, Bantam Classics

It's Monday 7/4! What Are You Reading?

Happy 4th of July, if you are in the U.S.! Enjoying a quiet morning before a busy evening with friends & family & fireworks.

I was ALL ALONE in the house for 4 days this week & thoroughly enjoyed every minute! Did some writing, sent some pitches to new markets, and of course, plenty of reading & blogging...and very little cooking, dishes, and laundry!

Here's what we've been reading this week:

• I finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, a highly acclaimed YA best-seller. The author combines a completely original story with some really weird old photos with great effect. It's about a modern-day teen boy discovering the very strange place where his grandfather lived as a child. It took some very unexpected turns! It was not a big hit in my book group, but most of the members rarely read either YA or fantasy - I was surprised when they chose this one. A few of us really enjoyed it and are planning to read the sequels.
• I am now reading another book group choice, though I will miss the discussion this week: Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. This nonfiction book won the 2012 National Book Award and was on the NY Times Top 10 List for 2012. It was chosen as the All-Freshmen-Reads book when my son started college 4 years ago, and I've been meaning to read it ever since. It is living up to its hype - and more. She has written a beautiful narrative story set in the slums of Mumbai that reads so much like a great novel that I have to keep reminding myself that this is real and these are real people. Stunning & powerful.
• I finished listening to Pax by Sara Pennypacker, a middle-grade novel about the friendship between a boy and a fox that he raised from an orphaned baby kit. The two are separated and trying to find their way back to each other. It is just as good as I had heard, with chapters alternating between the boy's and the fox's points of view - reminded me of a Kate DiCamillo novel (yes, that good).
• I think my next audio will be The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice, a teen/YA novel about one of two sisters who is paralyzed in a car crash and has locked-in syndrome.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. This was the first Follett novel I ever read (many decades ago), and I think I have read it 2 or 3 times by now. I couldn't believe my husband had never read it before. It's an excellent spy thriller that was later made into a very good movie.
• I have no idea what our 21-year old son is reading because he's been away on his grandparents' sailboat this past week, but I know he is enjoying some free time for fun reading finally!

Last week on the blog:

TV Tuesday: Wayward Pines, a super creepy dystopian sci fi thriller

My Summary of Books Read in May - a good reading month!

Fiction Review: Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran by Nadia Shahran - an engrossing, powerful novel about women in Iran

Teen/YA Review: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater - the 4th & final book in the series

Middle-Grade Review: The Magnificent Mya Tibbs by Crystal Allen - a new series with a spunky new Texan heroine

Saturday Snapshot: Shenandoah National Park, 2004 - 2015 - one of our favorite places!

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

There is still plenty of time to join the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge! Just click the link to read the rules - super-easy for summer! You only need to read one "big book" (400 pages or more) before September to participate. Join the fun, choose your Big Book(s) & sign up today!

Saturday Snapshot 7/2: Shenandoah National Park, 2004 - 2015

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.


My husband and I are planning a short trip to Shenandoah National Park this week. Shenandoah is one of our family's favorite places and was often our first stop on our annual 3-week summer road trip each year. There is so much varied terrain there - waterfalls, overlooks & views, forests, rocks - that each trip is unique. Here are a few past highlights from one of our favorite National Parks:

2004: Sons' favorite spot to look over the mountains, near our favorite campsite

Doyles River Falls

Bearfence Mountain Trail sometimes goes straight UP!

My son & I on top of Bearfence Mountain

Blackrock Summit Trail, with its huge pile of boulders

Our sons love to climb the rocks on Blackrock Summit Trail

Sunset at Shenandoah

Last summer, on Lands Run Falls Trail, in the fog.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!

Middle-Grade Review: The Magnificent Mya Tibbs

I recently listened to a middle-grade audiobook that is the start of a new series: The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown by Crystal Allen. Younger middle-grade readers (particularly girls) will love this spunky new heroine!

Nine-year old Mya Tibbs can hardly contain her excitement for Spirit Week. She’s in 4^th grade, and her brother, Nugget, is in 5^th grade at the same elementary school. Mya looks forward to Spirit Week every year – kids get partnered up and get to do all kinds of fun projects and dress up in cool costumes each day to show their school spirit. Mya has plans to partner with her best friend, Naomi Jackson, who just won the Junior Miss Lone Star Pageant. It’s going to be the best Spirit Week ever!

Mya’s excitement is crushed, though, when her teacher assigns her to partner with Mean Connie, the class bully, instead. To make matters worse, now Naomi won’t speak to her and convinces their mutual friends to give Mya the cold shoulder, too. Meanwhile, her brother, Nugget, intentionally drops his own best friend, Fish, a goofy kid who likes to celebrate bizarre holidays, like National Aardvark Day, in order to team up for Spirit Week with Solo, the cool boy in his class.

As you might guess, both of their plans for Spirit Week go horribly wrong, with disasters around every corner. Instead of the best Spirit Week ever, Mya is afraid it will be the worst. Mya and Nugget are both in for some surprises, though, as they learn more about their respective best friends, as well as their Spirit Week partners. Things turn out much different than either of them predicted, with plenty of surprises in store for readers, too.

Mya is a lively and likable character, a girl full of enthusiasm and high spirit. I liked the close relationships she has with her brother and her parents – finally, a children’s book where the parents aren’t either dead, absent, or evil! Mya lives in Texas, wears pink cowboy boots, and is obsessed with a celebrity named Cowgirl Claire. Her parents own Tibbs Farm and Ranch Store, where Mya and Nugget often help out, and the entire novel has an exuberant western style. The audiobook featured a narrator with a nice Texas twang, which added to the fun tone and setting.

Mya is a wonderful new heroine for elementary-aged girls to love. She means well, though she doesn’t always get things right. However, she learns a lot in this first novel about the true meaning of friendship and what it means to be a good friend. Along the way, there is a lot of fun and excitement, Texas-style!

HarperChildren’s Audio

Teen/YA Review: The Raven King

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I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books of Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle series and couldn’t wait to find out how she would wrap things up. So, I chose the fourth and final book, The Raven King, as my first book to read for my Big Book Summer Challenge. It was a suspenseful and satisfying conclusion.

I won’t be able to say too much about the plot, to avoid spoiling the many surprises in this exciting fantasy series for those who have not yet discovered it. If you haven’t read any of the series yet, check out my reviews of The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, and Blue Lily, Lily Blue and get started on this magical series.

Seventeen-year old Blue and her friends are back in this final novel. Blue goes to public school and has been brought up among a very eclectic group of psychics (including her mother), but the boys she hangs out with all go to the exclusive Aglionby Academy, what Blue and others refer to as Raven Boys. They are a close-knit group now, including Gansey, the wealthy, likable boy and leader of their group; Ronan, angry and hiding a terrifying secret from the world; Adam, a poor scholarship student who works hard; and quiet Noah. We have learned more about each of the boys with each book.

The boys’ quest to find Glendower, the mysterious Welsh king who was supposedly buried somewhere in the hills near their Virginia town, is still their goal, but now it is more a means to an end. Legend says that whoever wakes Glendower will get a wish granted, and the members of the group have each decided, individually, that the wish must be used to save Gansey’s life. At the start of the very first book, Blue saw a premonition that Gansey would die within the year, and that time is quickly running out. In addition, Blue has been told all her life that she is destined to kill her true love with a kiss, so there is that, too.

A new friend joins the group in this book. Henry is also a Raven Boy and has secrets of his own. He is tied into the complicated matters they are investigating in ways they never would have guessed. In addition, the evil stacked against them continues to grow, as collectors of magic artifacts descend on their little town due to rumors started by a nasty character from the third book. These ruthless collectors will stop at nothing to possess the powerful magic at stake.

As with the previous books in the series, The Raven King is action-packed and full of suspense. In fact, it is the most exciting and fast-paced of the series, as the forces of good and evil converge on little Henrietta, Virginia, for a battle to the death. But it’s not all thriller. Like its predecessors, this novel is also filled with friendship, romance, family drama, and plenty of supernatural magic. It’s a rollercoaster ride of a finale, filled with plenty of surprises and a satisfying, unpredictable conclusion. I can’t wait to see what Maggie Stiefvater comes up with next!

418 pages, Scholastic

    

Fiction Review: Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran

My most recent book read and reviewed for Publishers Weekly was Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran by Nadia Shahram. You can read the review I wrote for PW at this link.

This book surprised me in many ways. I thought it would probably be interesting subject matter (fiction based on the lives of real women in Iran), but I didn't expect such a compelling and well-written story. "Temporary marriage" is a Shia Muslim custom that is basically a legalized form of prostitution, where men (some of them already married) can legally form a "temporary marriage" to a woman (usually very young women) in order to have extramarital sex while technically sticking to the rules of their religion.

The story follows one main character, Ateesh, starting with her disastrous marriage to an abusive husband when she is 12, but it also incorporates the stories of many Iranian women - her friends and family members and other women she meets - to give a full view of the role of women in Iran today. This would be an excellent choice for a book group, with so many important topics to discuss.

It's a stunning, powerful novel that kept me turning the pages. Click the link above to read my full review.

Books Read in May

Well, here it is June 29 already, but believe it or not, this is a big improvement in timeliness of my monthly summary for me compared with last month's! Finally starting to catch up on reviews.

Here's what I read in May - some excellent books:

• The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (DE), fiction
• Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart (WA), middle-grade audio
• A Tale for the Time Being  by Ruth Ozeki (Canada, Japan), fiction 

• My Name Is Not Friday by Jon Walter (MS), teen/YA audio
• Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran by Nadia Shahram (Iran), fiction - reviewed for Publishers Weekly (my review at link)
• Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (Austria, Iran), graphic memoir

 

• The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos (MA), teen/YA audio

 It was a mostly fiction month, with the exception of one memoir. Interestingly, everything I read was realistic fiction or real-life. I read 3 adult novels, 1 graphic memoir, 2 teen/YA audiobooks (fiction), and 1 middle-grade audio (also fiction). I enjoyed all of these books, and several of them were very powerful & moving. I think my favorite was A Tale for the Time Being because it was the one that affected me the most emotionally, and I loved its thoughtfulness (and almost filled my Quote Journal with quotes from it!).

Progress on 2016 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! Oops - not a single TBR book in May for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge - I need to get moving on that one! For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, May was A Story of Survival month - oddly enough, every single one of these books could be called that! I chose My Name is Not Friday for the official challenge. I read another nonfiction book for my 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge, but STILL no classics for the 2016 Classics Challenge! For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I read books set in Japan, Canada, Austria, and Iran - quite a global month.  I am also tracking the states my books are set in, even though there is no Where Are You Reading challenge this year - I added 3 new states this month!

Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break:

My Bingo Card for May:

I filled 11 spaces on my May Bingo card - here's how the books I read fit in:

The Book of Unknown Americans - Award-winning, Loyal Friend
Some Kind of Courage - A Book Which Was Free, Rural Setting
My Name Is Not Friday - Siblings, Nurse/Doctor, Published This Year
A Tale for the Time Being - Artist/Poet/Writer
Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran - Lawyer
The Mystery of Hollow Places - Mother
And...the Free Space!

What was your favorite book read in May?

TV Tuesday: Wayward Pines

We recently started watching the second season of Wayward Pines on Fox. It's a twisty-turny sci fi thriller, but I'm going to be careful not to tell you too much about the plot. Discovering its secrets one by one is part of its unique charm.

The pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who is an executive producer of the series, so right away, you know you are in for some super creepy, unexpected surprises, and he doesn't disappoint.

In the first episode, Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke, played superbly by Matt Dillon, is searching for two fellow agents who disappeared about a month ago. He tracks them to a small town in remote Idaho called Wayward Pines, but he gets in a car accident. Ethan wakes up in the hospital and immediately notices something is "off" about the town and its residents. He can't call outside the town, the local police seem completely uninterested in his missing agents, and Sheriff Pope, played by Terrence Howard, tells him he can't leave the town. Back in Seattle, we see that Ethan's wife, Theresa, played by Shannon Sossamon, is worried about her husband and wonders whether he left her for Kate, one of the missing agents and Ethan's former mistress.

Ethan does find Kate in Wayward Pines in that first episode, but she seems to be happily settled in the bucolic town. Nothing makes sense to Ethan, and no one will listen to his urgent pleas that something is wrong. Back in the oddly deserted, quiet hospital, Nurse Pam, played by Melissa Leo, gives off a super-creepy vibe, while Megan, played by Hope Davis, is equally disturbing as the ever-smiling head of the local school. Everything seems strange and unexplainable to Ethan, and it's clear the town's residents aren't going to give him any answers. By the second episode, those eerie feelings are replaced by true fear as Ethan gradually learns more about the town's rules and consequences.

I really don't want to say anything beyond describing the first episode, because like most of M. Night Shyamalan's movies, this show is best discovered on your own, moment by moment, without any spoilers. I can tell you that you will be surprised - again and again - as the town's secrets are gradually revealed.

This is one of the few shows that our college son comes home to watch with us! He, my husband, and I all like it very much, even as it constantly reinvents itself, as its secrets are slowly disclosed. Wayward Pines is a thriller, with plenty of action and suspense. It is also a dystopian sci fi show, with all the elements that we love in those genres. And it is a drama, as the viewers get to know the town's residents and root for the good guys (and boo the evil ones!). The second season (we are 5 episodes into it now) brings even more surprises, as the first season ended with a disaster, and the second season brings in an almost entirely new cast...but it works and is still just as gripping as ever.

Season 2 of Wayward Pines is currently available free On Demand (our cable service shows it available until 3//17) or on the FOX website. It airs Wednesday nights at 9pm Eastern (I sometimes forget that some people still watch TV live when it airs!). Season 1 is available through Netflix DVD service (but not streaming), it looks like it is available on Hulu, and it is $1.99 an episode (or $17.99 for the entire first season) on Amazon Prime (see link below).

It's Monday 6/27! What Are You Reading?

I am basking in the peaceful silence out on our back deck. One son is in Rhode Island, my husband left for a business trip to Las Vegas at 4 am, and my older son is back at his apartment, packing to join his brother in a day or two. It's soooo quiet. And I only cooked for one this morning. And I was able to open all the windows when I got up instead of having to keep the upstairs air-conditioned while my son slept until noon. Can you tell I was desperately needing a little downtime and solitude? It's been a crazy month, starting with my son's graduation. I still have a lot of work to do today, to help my son get ready for his trip, but I am relishing this quiet moment.

As always, lots of good books being read at our house last week:

• I finished Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard, a middle-grade graphic novel that is due out on August 2. It was wholly unique, interesting, and had richly imagined drawings. I loved kind-hearted little Bera.
• My next book group pick came in at the library, so I am reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, a highly acclaimed YA best-seller. Am I the last person in the world to finally read this unique novel? The author combines a completely original story with some really weird old photos with great effect. It's about a modern-day teen boy discovering the very strange place where his grandfather lived as a child. Excellent so far. 
• I struggled to start an audiobook last week because the first two I tried - that I had downloaded from the publisher - were both missing chapters (you should have seen my confusion when the first one started with chapter 2!). I finally successfully uploaded one to my iPod and started listening to Pax by Sara Pennypacker, a middle-grade novel about the friendship between a boy and a fox that he raised from an orphaned baby kit. The two are separated and trying to find their ways back to each other. It is just as good as I had heard, with chapters alternating between the boy's and the fox's points of view - reminds me of a Kate DiCamillo novel (yes, that good).
• My husband, Ken, finished When Darkness Falls by James Grippando, a paperback thriller that I put in his Christmas stocking. 
• Ken has three new (big!) books from Father's Day but chose an old slim paperback from our shelves for his travel week: The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. This was the first Follett novel I ever read (many decades ago), and I think I have read it 2 or 3 times by now. I couldn't believe my husband had never read it before. It's an excellent spy thriller that was later made into a very good movie.
• Jamie, 21, is almost finished with the third book in A Pattern of Shadow and Light series by Melissa McPhail: Paths of Air. He says that it really picked up in the second half and he's loving it as much as the first two books.

 Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: The Fosters - a warm, funny family drama

Teen/YA Review: The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos - combination mystery & family drama

Graphic Memoir Review: Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi - coming of age in (and out of) Iran

Saturday Snapshot: Camping & Hiking in Maryland

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

Join the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge! Just click the link to read the rules - super-easy for summer! You only need to read one "big book" (400 pages or more) to participate. Join the fun & sign up today!

Graphic Memoir Review: Persepolis 2

After reading Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (my review at the link) last September for Banned Books Week, I was eager to read the follow-up book, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which is also a graphic memoir like the first book. What motivated me to finally request it at the library this spring were two unrelated events: my son’s 12^th grade World Lit class was reading Persepolis (which reminded me I’d meant to read the sequel) and Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame) chose both Persepolis and Persepolis 2 as the June selection for her feminist book group, Our Shared Shelf, onGoodreads.

Persepolis 2 picks up Marjane’s life story where Persepolis left off, when the author is in her early teens. Her parents send her to Austria to live with family friends, to get her away from the war and violence tearing their own country, Iran, apart. Things don’t work out well in the small apartment with the family friends, though, who soon send Marji off to a boarding school in Vienna. Thus begins a period of displacement for Marji, where she is shuttled from one place to another, always feeling like the outsider and missing her home and her family.

On top of these very unique difficulties, Marji is also dealing with all the usual challenges of adolescence: growing up, fitting in, and figuring out who she is. Marji continues to feel like an outsider and sees right away that no one in Europe understands or appreciates the horrific things that are happening in her home country. Given her mixed upbringing, in a secular home with a government based on strict religious adherence, she isn’t sure where she falls in terms of religion, which is even more confusing as she is living with nuns. She feels uncomfortable with her European peers’ focus on fashion, make-up, and sex and struggles to get along in a second language (French).

Gradually, she becomes friends with a group of misfits but even with them, she often feels like she doesn’t fit in. She tries out different personas, including punk. The years go by, and friends come and go, and Marji even has her first boyfriend…but she yearns to return home. Eventually, her situation degrades until she is in a serious crisis. She finally gets to return home to Iran.

Sample page: Marji experiments with different looks

She is thrilled to see her parents and grandmother again, but her homecoming leaves her feeling once again like an outsider. Having heard little of the atrocities occurring in her home country while in Europe, it’s as if she has been living in another world. She must re-adjust to wearing the veil and other customs required to fit in now in Iran. Family members and friends have been killed in the war, imprisoned, and tortured. Some of those who survived are now disabled. Feeling like she doesn’t even fit in at home, Marji struggles with depression but eventually goes to university and gets on with her adult life.

Marji’s story is gut-wrenching but captivating. She experienced all the normal adolescent problems, including wrestling with her identity, while also constantly feeling different from those around her. As with the chronicle of her childhood in Persepolis, this stark, complicated coming-of-age story is reflected in her black-and-white drawings. Her basic experiences are often universal and relatable, while set against this stunning, often horrifying, backdrop. Eventually, with plenty of missteps, Marji does make it to adulthood and figures out who she is and what she wants to do with her life. You will be rooting for her every step of the way in this powerful, moving graphic memoir.

187 pages, Pantheon

NOTE: As with Persepolis, Persepolis 2 is an excellent book for older teens and young adults (my son's 12th grade World Lit class read Persepolis this year) though parents should be aware when considering this book for younger kids that it is about becoming an adult and deals honestly with alcohol, drugs, smoking, and sex, as well as the war, torture, and violence happening in Iran.