Of Beetles and Angels

My friend Amy lent me Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard. It's the incredible story of Mawi Asgedom, who fled his home country of Ethiopia during a civil war to a refugee camp in Sudan. His family was able to come to America (specifically, affluent Wheaton, Illinois) where he was teased in school for being poor. The title comes from advice of Mawi's father: "Treat all people--even the most unsightly beetles--as though they were angels sent from heaven." Following this advice does have a positive effect on the outcome of Mawi's life and doing so, combined with very hard work, gets him a full scholarship to Harvard. It is an inspiring story, particularly about what can be accomplished when you work hard and the importance of treating people with respect.



Mawi Asgedom



We the Animals

I saw a favorable review for We the Animals by Justin Torres in Bookpage a while back and put the title in my ever growing I'll-Have-To-Check-That-Out-Someday list. It sounded interesting but not enough that I was ready to run right out and try to find it. Then I was browsing the new books at the library and saw it. It's a tiny little book (only 125 pages) so I grabbed it. Alan read it first (and enjoyed it) and when he was done, I picked it up.

The novel is a coming-of-age type story about three brothers (half-white, half-Puetro Rican) whose parents have a complicated, sometimes violent relationship. Told from the perspective of the youngest and spanning several years, it is a story about sibling relationships but also identity and reconciling who you are and how that fits in the scope of your family. The prose is fascinating, somehow managing to be simple, abrasive, and beautiful all at once. Many times the story is told in first person plural, which also makes it interesting. (I've heard of a novel by Joshua Ferris called Then We Came to the End, that is supposed to be told entirely in first person plural and read that he (barely) pulled it off... Torres manages this point-of-view nicely since he blends it with first person singular so it is never a stretch.) It's an interesting book and the short length makes it an easy book to pick up and read quickly. (Though of course it took me twice as long as it took Alan. Go figure.)

Bluebird

I'm a big fan of Ariel Gore. She's the powerhouse who started the Hip Mama zine before authoring a few parenting books, a memoir, a novel, a book on writing, and editing two anthologies. Her work oozes honesty and I absolutely love her voice. I actually got to meet her eight years ago at a conference in Madison, attending her workshop on raising a teenager though my son was merely four. "I work with teenagers," I told her. "Closely... so it's like anything you have to say about parenting will be applicable for me too." (How embarrassing, is that? Not something to broadcast, I know. But the thing that makes Ariel so admirable is her bravery to tell things how they really are--warts and all, so I'm following her lead, hoping to achieve that same level of honesty in anything I write.)

When I saw Ariel Gore had a new book out, I checked to see if the library had it, which they didn't, but a nearby district library did. I waited until I was actually going to that library before checking it out and devouring the book. Bluebird: women and the new psychology of happiness is Ariel's attempt to make sense of the issue of women and happiness--tackling questions like why are women said to be more prone to depression than men, why are all the experts of the new 'positive psychology' field men, and "can a woman be smart, empowered, and happy?"

She did plenty of research, including attending a 'positive psychology' conference, and having women keep journals (herself included). She asked these women questions about happiness, such as did they think they were more or less happy than their mothers were and how heavily did they weigh their own happiness when making life decisions. The book is fairly short so she really crams it in there (which I loved) and is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in the issue of happiness from a feminist perspective.

Marzi

I stumbled upon Marzi: a memoir (written by Marzeba Sowa with art by Sylvain Savoia) in the YA section of the library. It had been too long since I'd read a graphic novel and this one looked interesting. It's the story of an ordinary girl growing up in Poland towards the end of communism in that country. It's a fantastic portrait of how communism effected the daily lives of families and shows the struggle for freedom from the perspective of a child. It reminded me of Persepolis, but in a different country, with a different struggle. Sowa does a great job of telling the story through the eyes of a child in a way that's humorous and sweet.

to be real

I've been thinking a lot about feminism lately, so I picked up to be real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism, a collection of essays edited by Rebecca Walker. This collection is full of diverse perspectives and covers a range of topics. There is an essay about hip-hop and women (though the writer of the essay still enjoys the music of male hip hop artists with lyrics that are demeaning to women), an interview with Veronica Webb about being a feminist and a model, and the story of a daughter whose Indian parents were wed as part of an arranged marriage and whose mother fled the loveless marriage and moved to Australia to reclaim her identity. I especially enjoyed an essay written by a male feminist who reflected on his experience trying to throw a bachelor party without strippers, as well as one about a couple who created a new last name when they married rather than each keeping their own or having the woman hyphenate hers. I found this collection interesting and very thought-provoking. I look forward to checking out more of Rebecca Walker's work.

Starters

If I hear a lot about a book, I want to check it out. There was a lot of buzz around Lissa Price's new YA novel Starters, which is described as a Hunger Games-like story. I was intrigued, but when I searched for it at the library found it was only available as a Playaway. I put it on hold, unsure I'd actually listen to it, but then ideal biking weather approached and as I started biking further and further, I was wishing I had something to listen to while riding. (I don't have an iPod or one of those fancy phones with music downloads.) Ah, but I did have a Playaway. And so I listened to Starters as I pedaled around.

Like The Hunger Games, Starters is set in the future after a war. An epidemic swept the nation and those vaccinated were the children ("starters") and the elderly ("enders"). Children without grandparents were sent to an institution, but Callie and her younger brother live on the streets to avoid the desolation that awaits orphans. Out of desperation, Callie decides to go to Prime Destinations, where teens can rent their bodies to seniors. But things get complicated, messy, and then dangerous. That's all I'll say in the interest of not giving too much away. It was an enjoyable book--gripping and interesting. I can see why there is so much comparison to The Hunger Games and I would agree fans of the book by Suzanne Collins would enjoy Lissa Price's new novel.

Little Children

I'm so behind on posting! In this first installment of playing catch-up, I'm going back to something I read a couple weeks ago. The lapse in writing about Tom Perrotta's Little Children was because I knew I wouldn't forget it, but also because I had the movie on hold at the library. So for the first time ever, I'm writing about a book after seeing the movie shortly after finishing the novel. (It's usually months, if not years, after I read the book that I get around to the movie, by which time my memory of the book is fuzzy.)

I've read a couple of Perrotta's books and like the humor and simplicity of them. I kept seeing "author of Little Children" by his name recently so I decided I should check it out. When I saw there was a movie adaptation that received several Academy Award nominations, I put the film on hold to watch when I completed the book.

The novel looks at several characters, but the main ones are Todd and Sarah (in the movie Todd's name was changed to Brad--not sure why?) both of whom are stay-at-home parents. The two strike up an unlikely affair and through the alternating perspectives, the reader can see the affair, their marriages, and the community from multiple angles. Because it's not just Sarah and Todd's worlds that are explored (or Sarah's husband, who is caught up in the cyber-fantasy world of "Slutty Kay") but others, most notably Larry, a young, but retired cop and Ronnie, who has been released from prison for exposing himself to a young girl. Larry is disturbed by Ronnie's presence in the neighborhood and makes it his mission to make Ronnie's life hell.

I enjoyed both versions of Little Children, though the book was much better. It was humorous and a little touching. The book and movie have different endings, which wasn't too surprising considering how the book ended. Let's just say you can't really end a movie like that. Ah, the virtue of the book format--because I did like the book's ending better.

Good Bones and Simple Murders

I've been reading a long novel for a couple weeks. It's good enough that I want to keep reading, but slow enough that I keep putting it down. I found Margaret Atwood's Good Bones and Simple Murders at the library and thought it would be perfect to dip into. It is a collection of rather short stories, some are only a page or two. They aren't your typical short stories and are difficult to define. They are extraordinarily inventive though and brimming with Atwood's trademark voice. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I felt the theme linking the stories was they were largely about how we tell stories. She gives the perspective of characters like the Little Red Hen and Gertrude from Hamlet. I loved "There Was Once," which is the voice of two people, one trying to tell a fairytale-like story and the other interrupting about the stereotypes being perpetuated in the tale. I also loved "Happy Endings," which begins: "John and Mary meet. What happens next?" It goes on to look at different possible scenarios. I adore Margaret Atwood and her unmatched wit so I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to her fans. (Though it may not be the best introduction to the uninitiated.)

Dead End In Norvelt

Author Jack Gantos

Isaac and I finished reading Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos the other night. I wanted to read it because it is recently won the Newberry Award for this year. Isaac didn't think it sounded that interesting, but agreed to read it with me as he is willing to listen to me read books he wouldn't pick up on his own.

It's the story of a boy (named Jack Gantos) who lives in a town called Norvelt that was built because of Eleanor Roosevelt to help people living in poverty. Jack's mother still wants to barter for things as she says it's "the Norvelt way," which embarrasses Jack as his mom tries to avoid paying the doctor money they don't have. Jack has a chronic nosebleeding problem that needs fixing but the family doesn't have the money for the operation. Jack finds himself in big trouble with his parents and spends the summer grounded and his only reprieve is helping an elderly woman with whom he strikes up an unlikely friendship--in a sense, that's the core of the story. The scene when Jack meets the feisty old woman is quite hilarious and had Isaac and I both laughing out loud. The rest of the book contains humor, but nothing else as funny. Jack and the elderly woman both love history so the book is packed with historical references and stories. Overall, it is a good book that Isaac and I both enjoyed, but I can't highly recommend it because there were points that dragged on a little. But in the end, I could see why it won the award.