American War

Finished June 5
American War by Omar El Akkad, read by Dion Graham

This book feels all too possible as a future reality in these troubling times. This book imagines our world in the late 2070s, after a civil war has broken out in the U.S. over the use of fossil fuels. The former United States are no longer united. A southwestern portion has split off and become a Mexican protectorate. A small group of southeastern states has left the union to become the Free Southern States and holds on to the use of fossil fuels. As climate change took it's toll, coastal areas became enveloped by the oceans, and lost to habitation. This includes most of Florida and portions of all the coasts. This led to the relocation of the U.S. capital to Columbus, Ohio.
The book has a story within a story. A man in Alaska near the end of his life tells the outer story. The inner story begins in the spring of 2075 near the beginning of the civil war. The Chestnut family lives in Louisiana, which is Union territory, but
Sarat and her twin sister Dana are six years old, but very different. Sarat is all about curiosity, trying things out. She is built large and will grow into a large woman. Dana is girly, already into dresses and makeup, while Sarat wears overalls. Their older sister Simon, nine, is smart and eager to help. Martina, 39, and Benjamin, 45 have a good marriage. Benjamin works at a local shirt factory and the family has enough to live, but the war has meant that the school closed due to fighting drawing near, and Martina wants more for her children. As she encourages Benjamin to apply for a work permit to work in the North of the country, this is the first decision that will change all their lives forever. The second decision follows closely, the one to leave their home and go to a refugee camp.
As the story follows the lives of the Chestnuts, you see the difficulty of living a life of uncertainty, a life where growing children don't always make the choices you would like them to make.
This is a story of war, of rebellion, of family. It is a story of the inequities that come with war, about its effect on the lives of civilians. It is about children forced to grow up too quickly, and with teachers that have their own bias.
It was an amazing read.

Montaro Caine

Finished June 4
Montaro Caine by Sidney Poitier

Well, I was intrigued enough that Poitier had written a novel to want to read it, especially as I had really enjoyed both his memoirs. I found the novel interesting enough, but not at the same level as the memoirs. Here we have the title character as the CEO of a multinational mining/chemical company, although you get little sense of just what the company does. When Montaro was a child his father travelled to Washington, D.C. to work on a research project about into autistic people. On the return trip, the plane crashed and his father was killed. But someone involved in the research project had given him an object for Montaro and that object and his research notes survived the crash.
Montaro seems to be in jeopardy of being replaced as leader of his company through some internal politicking. When he is approached by two strangers and asked to look at a coin, he is immediately brought back to his university days when he analyzed a similar coin. The story of the two coins is at the heart of this book, their origins and the people who have held them along the way.
There is a moralizing heart to this book about the need for peace, scientific discovery and forward-looking people working for the good of the planet rather than their own wealth. So it has got a bit of science fiction to it, along with an underlying commentary on doing good. However, I didn't really connect with any of the characters, finding that they seemed a bit flat to me. The story was interesting as was the underlying premise.

Wild Thing

Finished April 7
Wild Thing by Josh Bazell
I loved Bazell's first book, Beat the Reaper, and was looking forward to the continuing saga of Pietro Brnwa, former hitman and now doctor in the witness protection program. Here, under the name Lionel Azimuth, he starts the novel working as a doctor on a cruise ship, an unhappy existence. Then he gets asked by a reclusive billionaire to go to a remote lake in the Boundary Waters area between Minnesota and Manitoba to see if the rumours of a legendary water creature are true. His job is to protect Violet Hurst, a paleontologist also on the trip. Violet is a character to love, outspoken and self-assured. Azimuth is drawn to her, but remembers what happened to his last girlfriend and is less than eager to get involved with someone.
He is also a bit nervous around water, given his recent experiences in the previous novel. But he is also tired of constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering when someone will have found his trail again.
The story of the water creature is an interesting one, with lots of things going on, some interesting characters making an appearance, and constant surprises.
But Bazell offers more. Following the novel action is an article by Violet on global warming and the possibility tipping point. Then following that, is a section on Bazell's sources for everything going on here, from politics to the environment, science to pop culture. Bazell is a man with varied interests and strong curiosity along with high intelligence and that comes out here.
Yes, a great thriller, but so, so much more.

The Global Forest

Finished August 11
The Global Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger
Beresbord-Kroeger is a botanist and medical biochemist and an expert on medicinal, environmental, and nutritional properties of trees.
This book links that knowledge with a poetic style to celebrate trees, mourn losses, and educate the reader. Told in short chapters that echo traditional storytelling, Beresford-Kroeger shows how trees are a part of the larger environment, giving examples of how they interact with other plants, insects, animals and man. She shows how trees help each other out, and explains the role of mother trees in a forest. She tells us how they breathe, providing us with the oxygen we need and converting or storing our waste carbon. She shows how the trees green chlorophyll echoes our own red hemoglobin in function and movement through the living. She shows how they provide food, shelter, medicine, and comfort to other living entities, including us. The connections she explains are eye-opening. She makes several arguments for change in how we treat these important elements of the earth, and hopefully we are listening.
A wonderful lyrical read, although it did have me reaching for my dictionary from time to time for scientific terms and other wonderfully new words. The short chapters offer just enough to ponder upon before going on the the next one.

I Am Number Four

Finished November 14
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
This teen novel has as the main character a young man who is from another planet. Right now he is going by the name John. He and 8 others like them along with nine other children, destined to be protectors of their planet, came to earth a decade earlier. They were each accompanied by an adult who helps them and teaches them. John's guide is Henri. John has some memories of his time on his home planet, Lorien, and of his grandparents whom he lived with. John and his fellow Lorien children are of an age where they are coming into their Legacies. This is when their powers come.
Beings from another planet, the Mogadarians, have also come to Earth and are hunting the Loriens. They destroyed their own planet and laid waste to Lorien. Now they have plans for Earth. John and his fellow Loriens must stay hidden to survive until the time for battle with the Mogadarians arrive. But they may find themselves up against their enemy before they are ready.
This is a story of power, coming-of-age, loneliness, and the environment. There is much here that will appeal to teens, including love. I really enjoyed this novel and see how it has left itself open to a sequel. I will look forward to that.

Poignant and Inspiring First Novel

Finished August 6
Amphibian by Carla Gunn
I loved this book! I could hardly put it down, starting it yesterday evening and finishing it at breakfast this morning.
The novel centers on 9-year-old Phineas Walsh, a boy who loves knowledge and is passionate about the environment. Phin has created his own world Ruell, that he writes about and draws pictures of. It is a world with a variety of life forms, interdependent on each other, but sometimes destructive (similar to earth).
He is also hooked on the Green Channel, a channel focused on the world and environment.
Phin's parents are separated, and have been for about a year. His mother is a journalist who works from home most afternoons. His father is a foreign correspondent who spends most of his time away, but phones Phin often to stay in touch. He is also close to his Granny, who is a biologist and shares his interest in the environment. Phin's best friend is Bird (Richard L'Oiseau), and he has a cat named Fiddledee.
Phin's mom thinks he worries too much about the environment and worries herself about the effect on his life. She begins taking him to a psychologist. Phin also has some issues at school with a bully, Lyle, and with information from his teacher that doesn't seem right to him (and I agree!!)
Phin caught my heart and I loved his lively intelligence. This book gets inside his head, and makes sense.

Inspiring Read

Finished April 6
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: why we need a green revolution -- and how it can renew America by Thomas L. Friedman
I loved this book. I have been following the environmental issue and politicians' responses to it for a few years, but Friedman really brings it together here. He doesn't shy away from the realities of what we have done and what we need to do, but he does make it seem possible. I found the chapter on China and what it is doing particularly interesting. We in the west need to get our politicians away from using the environmental agenda against each other and work together so we strengthen our own countries and face this world issue with leadership. It made me think about what I was doing (the "easy" things like changing light bulbs and installing a more efficient furnace and windows), to what I could do. I discovered there is a solar initiative in my own neighbourhood and am going to their next meeting. This is a book that everyone should read. I found it energizing me to take action.

More teen fiction

Finished March 8
Exodus by Julie Bertagna
This teen novel was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award back in 2002 when it was first published in the U.K. and now is finally making a stir here in North America.
Mara lives on Wing, an island in the North Atlantic at the end of the 21st century. But as has been happening for many years, her island is disappearing. Her people have moved to higher and higher ground as the world warms and the waters rise, but they are running out of places to go. Mara uses the old technology of the Weave (similar to the web of today) to show them that New Worlds, manmade cities that are built high above the water, do exist and that they offer hope for the future. As Mara leads her people to a new land, she must suffer personal loss and physical challenges, but she also finds help in others that know compassion.
The story is engaging and definitely "of our time" and the characters interesting.
I hope for more about Mara and her friends.