AUTHOR: Carl Hiaasen
AGES: 5th – 10 grades
REVIEW: I just finished Flush, and I thought what Hoot did for owl's, Flush will do for dumping...no pun intended. For a summary of the book, Hiaasen's own site gives a pretty good short synopsis (and don't forget to try the game while you're there). I've also embedded a video clip below of Hiaasen talking about Flush. All of the characters in Flush are quite eccentric: from the larger-than-life pirate grandfather to Shelly the bartender with barbed wire tattoo to Abbey, Noah's little sister, that hasn't quite given up on biting. It felt a little like Steel Magnolias for kids. But being from the South myself, I kind of like a little drippy storytelling.
From many of the reviews about Flush, like those listed at Barnes and Nobles' site, you can see the emphasis of this book is on the development of Noah—how he sees the world from a tween's eyes to the everyday life of kid that's been bullied. Noah is an earnest character. Hiaassen has portrayed Noah true to the south and the coasts of Florida. At the Bookworm Burrow blog, Julie says one of the strongest elements in the book is how Noah uses hit wits to infiltrate and expose the waste dumping from the Coral Queen. I would have to agree that seeing Noah's disappointment for his father's untiring morality in unbounded, malicious ways only emphasizes the risky but lawful method Noah uses to bring justice.
But I would also add that possibly the strongest theme in the novel is the use of humor by Hiaasen's characters. This story had the potential to get very morose for a child, given the potential for divorce from Noah's parents and the questionable deaths of Shelly's boyfriend and Noah's Grandfather . But Hiaasen plays it light and lets the characters see the humor in themselves and all of their situations. While he doesn't make light of these serious topics, he allows the characters to recognize their flaws and laugh, which always makes it easier for us as outsiders to laugh as well.
Overall, I thought this book was a little slower than Hoot. It took me a little longer to read it. But I thought the plot was just as poignant and just as enjoyable. I appreciate that Hiaasen has purpose in his writing to children. While he's probably best known for his adult novels, his commitment to bring awareness to children of important causes is admirable and one I'm willing to commit my money and time to as well.
AUTHOR: Ryder Windham
AGES: 7th - 10 Grades
REVIEW: As other reviews have noted (see Amazon's site and The Comlink), the storyline for this juvenile novel tracts along all six movies very closely. It was evident from the editing that decisions were made about what to include with details and what to exclude. It seems as though page count dictated the plot. In many cases, I would like to have seen more details and space given to more of the action portions of the story. For example, after Count Dooku is beheaded, we are told in just a few sentences that Anakin flew Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-D2 back to Coruscant, because Anakin can fly anything. There were too many instances of this throughout the book for it to be engaging and powerful. I understand that this short novel had to span 6 book and over two decades of characters and events, and the pace had to meet characteristics of young readers. Too much was abridged, though.
The best parts of the book, however, were those small shards that gave us insight into Anakin's broken psyche. In a number of instances, we learned about Vader's motivations and his feelings that he attempted to ignore. We were also treated to some references to stories that took place outside of the six novels, bringing in some of the expanded Star Wars universe beyond the Lucas vision. These jewels, I thought, were the book's greatest strength. We saw some connections between what happened after Empire and before Jedi. We saw allusions to Vader's first inclinations of Luke and Leia. We heard of Vader's retreat. These extended the story we all could recite. These make the book worth reading. But there were too few of these to make it worth buying.
The Comlink makes the suggestion for taking this novel and rewriting for adults. I would second that. This is the atypical direction, though. Most novels get the juvenile adaptation. We'd like to see the mature adaptation and don't disappoint us.
AUTHOR: Brian Selznick
AGES: 4th grade - 8th grade
REVIEW: Selznick really brings together different forms of storytelling, including graphic novels, picture books and novels together in this work. For a synopsis of the plot, check out It's All About the Book's entry. What I really like most is how the author uses the artwork to advance the plot action, which really is the magic of picture books and authors like David Wiesner and Graeme Base. Selznick nails the combination, though. The drawings are all pencil, black-and-white, and the whole layout and typography of the text has been executed well. The book feels like a work of art.
He also does a great job of weaving historical facts and artifacts into the fictional storyline. Photos and still frames from films have been integrated seamlessly into the story and illustrations. It's All About the Book's entry questions whether an author has ever been nominated for a Caldecott and a Newberry award in the same year and should 2007 be the year. I agree. This book really deserves distinguished recognition for making us rethink these award categories and how text and pictures can be united.
AUTHOR: Jez Alborough
AGES: Preschool (6 months – 5 years)
REVIEW: This is quickly becoming one of my favorite books. It is currently my two-year-old's favorite. We read it at least once a day.
This picture book is an endearing story about a very young monkey who can't find someone to hug. One word ("HUG") is used throughout the story. After observing other animals hugging, the monkey begins to cry. When his mommy finds him, he's overjoyed and shares his appreciation with others.
The artwork and story are both very cute. My daughter enjoys figuring out whether Bobo the little monkey is thinking, feeling sad or feeling happy. My four-year-old enjoys reading the word on each page, too.
AUTHOR: Gregory Maguire
AGES: This is not a Young Adult/Juvenile book. At the earliest this book is appropriate for 16- or 17-year olds. This novel has strong sexual, political, violent and cynical elements.
REVIEW: Maguire is well known for creating alternate viewpoints for familiar tales. This tale was also translated into the very popular and award winning musical. The story is excellent and engaging, but it plods along in the beginning and slows at the end. Jay at FantasyBookSpot.com offers another critical stance on this novel. I find three themes woven throughout the text: interconnectedness, power and good v. evil.
Interconnectedness. The characters and story arcs are tightly related. Specifically, Elphaba's (the Wicked Witch of the West) uncertain conception and physical birth defects are intimately connected to the events leading to her death. Mother Yackle, a passing character, pops up over and over.
Power. Both perceived power and real power are toyed with in the novel. The roles and respect for sentient Animals degrade over the course of pages. The theocratic Nessarose (Wicked Witch of the East) receives the title "witch" from her subjects while Elphaba is so labeled from her seemingly mystical actions, frightening appearance and reclusive nature. Similarly, Glinda (Good Witch of the North) prefers the title "sorceress" but accepts the base "witch" from the ignorant commoners. Glinda in fact is the only true witch in the bunch.
Good v. evil. Finally, we as readers are continually asked to question our definitions of good and evil. How individual make seemingly benign decisions and the consequences of their actions — and how they should be interpreted. In the final pages, various viewpoints on the source of evil are considered at a dinner party, ending with Elphaba focusing on the unknowable elements of evil and its secretive nature.
While some instances of this theme are covert, the relationship of good and evil within religion and politics is obvious. Characters continue to credit (blame) religious icons for events. Elphaba, an agnostic, at the very end begins to question her soul, and the Wizard rules the empire of Oz with bureaucratic distance, military threat and a mystical veil.
Like the movie Titanic and the demise of Anakin Skywalker (a.k.a. Darth Vader), we begin this story knowing full well we are heading toward the iceberg and the dark side. The only question is how it happens, and this is what Maguire proffers so well. The empathy we feel for the Wicked Witch of the West is unexpected; her evolution is credible and moving for an iconic villain. When we reach her death (with the pail of water), there are no bells ringing "Ding, dong, the witch is dead!". Instead, we realize the Kansas twister is the smallest tragedy in the whole book, and Elphaba's life is the true disaster.
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