A Sky-Blue Bench

Finished November 15

A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Peggy Collins

This story of a young girl, Aria, doesn't give the background of her injury, although it is at the center of the plot. Aria has a "helper leg" after an accident. She is just now returning to school and finds it difficult to sit on the ground for class. 

After consideration of her options, she decides to build a bench for herself for class. The story shows the gathering of materials, the request for advice from someone with the necessary skills, and the construction of the bench including painting it a sky-blue colour with the gift of paint given to Aria. This blue is a colour of courage, peace, and wisdom according to her donor. 

Aria's project inspires the girls in her class to dream of more projects, from more benches to bookcases. 

This story is based on real children in Afghanistan, where wooden furniture was often used by refugees to burn to keep warm, resulting in a lack of furniture following their stay in facilities like schools.

The pictures really enliven the story, with the characters' emotions coming out through their facial expressions. A lovely read about a subject not often covered. 

New Boy

Finished August 4

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

This novel is part of a series of books of books from Hogarth Press to retell works by Shakespeare for a modern audience. Hogarth chose well-known authors to select a play of their choosing and retell it. Chevalier chose the play Othello for the project. 

Her setting is a public school in the suburbs of Washington, D.C in the 1970s. Osei, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat and his wife is at his fourth school in six years. It is a month before the end of term, and he is the only black boy at the school. He is in the last year before middle school, grade six. 

There are two teachers for that grade, a younger woman, Miss Lode, and an older man, Mr. Brabant. Their attitudes around race play a part in the story as well.

Because I knew this was an Othello retelling, I knew the direction the story was going to go, and I was sick at the way one boy, Ian, was setting Osei up to make judgements that weren't based in reality. Plus knowing how kids are at that age makes the story work too. 

This story is very well done, with the groups that end up being created at school, the racial issues of the time, and the way young love works at that age with its uncertainty and newness. I went to school during this time as well, although in Canada, and can definitely relate to the way this played out. I hung about at recess the same way these kids do, jumping rope, playing casual team games, and sitting around in groups. I was often the "new girl" although not in the same way Osei was, with the differences and expectations he faced. However I was aware of this kind of thing happening with other children, and knew this prejudice existed. A gut-wrenching tale of manipulation and prejudice well told. This was a book I had planning to do with my book club last year, and am disappointed now that we didn't get to it. I think it has a lot of potential for discussion. 

Journey to the Hopewell Star

Finished December 4

Journey to the Hopewell Star by Hannah D. State

This middle grade science fiction / fantasy novel got me hooked early. Samantha (Sam) Sanderson is just about to turn twelve as the story begins. She's been homeschooled, mostly by her grandfather, as her parents are physicists that work for the government. 

The time that Samantha lives in is our own, but more advanced in terms of technology and space travel. Her grandfather makes dinner using some type of technological device, but in more than just this opening scene situation, technology seems to not work as it should. 

Sam lives on a farm in Nova Scotia, but will be soon moving to town to start school as she's come to an age where she needs more in terms of education than her father can offer. When she goes out to the barn at the beginning of the book, she finds more that she expected, and begins a journey that takes her to other planets, our moon, and even into other people's experiences. This first visit takes her to the planet Kryg under false pretences, but she makes a friend and learns more about both that planet and her own, including the precariousness of both the planets' futures. 

In town, Sam quickly makes friends with another girl and the group of friends that include her. Her friend Kato has a twin brother Kobe who seems to be on the autism spectrum. He doesn't talk a lot, but he seems to be noticing Sam. It makes her feel uncomfortable, but also curious. 

When Sam discovers a new skill, the first person that she shares it with is Kobe. And he connects with her in a big way. Their other friend Simon is a techie and provides insight into the technological side of any situation.

All of the kids are aware of the environmental threats that have been growing on earth, through their own experiences. As they begin to connect these threats to a local corporation and its owner, things may be coming to a crisis in other ways as well. 

I liked Sam's confidence in her abilities, and willingness to try new things, and her selflessness when it came to the larger community's needs. We see this in both small ways and large in her actions and thoughts. 

This book will give kids the confidence that their actions can make a difference in the world, and that kindness and connections are important. 

A really enjoyable read. 

Bullyville

Finished August 17
Bullyville by Francine Prose

This novel follows Bart Rangely's year of eighth grade. Bart lived with his parents in the commuter town of Hillbrook, New Jersey, and he'd started grade eight more or less normally. But a few months before, Bart's dad had moved out to live with his girlfriend, and Bart and his mom were trying to go on as normally as possible. That means that his mom hadn't told anyone that his dad had left, just saying he was really busy. And so Bart never told anyone either. It was just easier. But then Bart stayed home from school with the flu, and his mom stayed home to look after him, and it was September 11, 2001. And Bart's dad died.
Bart and his mom got a lot of news coverage, and got treated as a feel good story, but Bart doesn't feel good. He's lost his dad, now for good, and that makes him feel awful. And his friends don't seem to know how to talk to him anymore. So when an offer gets made from the local boys prep school, his mom thinks it is a great opportunity. As much as he fights it, telling her all the rumours about the school, how instead of being called Baileyville, locals call it Bullyville, and how it is supposed to be a horrible place, he agrees to go.
And it is even worse than he expected. He is paired with a Big Brother, a junior named Tyro. At orientation, Tyro seems cold and disinterested, but after Bart starts, he turns into a bully, and he has a team of boys assisting him in treating Bart to a series of torments. Bart knows he isn't the only one being bullied, but he still doesn't seem able to make friends. So he tries to suck it up and pretend for his mother's sake, until finally he can't anymore.
This is a sad story, of how one family can use privilege and weath to itake away consequences of their actions. It is a story of empathy, and the lack of it, and how everything doesn't always work out, and people don't always show their good sides in the end. An interesting story. 

Nijigahara Holograph

Finished July 12
Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano

This book is written in manga style of back-to-front, but comes with a nice warning at the front so that you are reminded where to being.
It is a story of children, bullying, parents and teachers who don't pay attention, those who take advantage of such situations, and the difficulties of dealing with it from the children's side. It is about hope, through the imagery of the butterfly.
Not an easy book to follow, but the drawings are wonderful and the underlying message meaningful.
One gets a sense of the pain, the frustration, the sadness from the characters.

Boom

Finished December 4
Boom by Mark Haddon

I've loved every book of his I've read and this one is no exception. But this is a book for kids. Jim and his older sister Becky have the usual brother sister teasing relationship, although she's grown a bit more antagonistic lately. So when she tells him she overhead teachers talking about shipping him off to a reform school, he's pretty sure she's teasing, but not absolutely sure. He talks to his best friend Charlie and the two decide to bug the teachers' staffroom to see if it's true. What they hear shocks them both. It would seem that two of the teachers have a secret language, but what is behind this. As the two boys investigate, things begin to get a bit scary for them, and when Charlie disappears Jim finds himself calling on Becky for assistance. Of course, as with all older sisters she comes through when it counts.
With a great story, and great characters, this book is a winner all the way. There's a nice side story of Jim's dad and his struggle for meaning in his life, too.

The Little Village School

Finished August 30
The Little Village School by Gervase Phinn

This is the first novel in a new series set in Barton-in-the-Dale. The village school has had an inspection recently and the report is pretty bad. Parents already had some complaints, but now some are taking their children out of the school in favour of a school in another villlage. When they advertise for a new head teacher, the pickings are slim, but one candidate stands out. Elizabeth Devine has been head teacher of a big inner city school and while some wonder why she would come to a smaller school, most are just hopeful. She has big changes in mind for Barton. Elizabeth settles in over the summer, making over a cottage nearby and beginning work on making the school more welcoming. Her manner is one that earns her the love of her students and the respect of her staff. She has parents and staff working together in a positive way. Facing challenges head-on, and using diplomacy and her professional knowledge, Elizabeth makes Barton-in-the-Dale her home and the village school one to be proud of.
A feel-good novel of village life, with all sorts of characters to enliven the plot, this gentle read will have readers clamouring for the next book in the series.

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.

Children's Fiction

Finished September 11
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko
A good book for tweens, this novel features Kirsten McKenna, who is entering grade seven. She has hardly seen her best friend Rory over the summer, and now Rory seems to be hanging out with a different group of girls. Kirsten's parents are constantly fighting and her mother keeps talking about Kirsten's recent weight gain and food issues. Luckily Kirsten's little sister Kippy is an ally in the household and the girls comfort each other.
Also starting at the same school is Walker Jones, one of the few black kids at the school. Walker is there on scholarship and he is under pressure from his single mother to do well. Walker hangs out with Matteo, another scholarship student, who seems to be willing to do anything the class queen asks him to, no matter how wrong.
As the kids find their place in the school and deal with their parents' issues, they learn about themselves as well.
This is a good story, with interesting characters. The story alternates between Kirsten and Walk telling their versions of what is going on, and other characters are given depth as well.

Kid's Book

Finished June 21
Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: a year told through stuff by Jennifer L. Holm, pictures by Elicia Castaldi
Bought this book for my niece but think I'll wait a bit to give it to her (she's nine and I think a couple years older would be better suited). It is an interesting book though, told in an interesting way. Ginny is going into grade seven and has a to-do list. They don't include accidentally turning her hair pink or getting detention, but those things happen.
She has issues with friends, family (a new stepdad) and babysitting. She has her supporters, including a long-distance grandfather, and her mother is understanding. It is the layout of the book that really makes this work. It is a scrapbook style with collages of items on every page, illustrating Ginny's life in a way that words alone cannot.
I suppose it could fall into the category of graphic novel, but it is not the classic comic book style, and that is something that will intrigue young readers.