The Girl that Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

Date Started: February 12, 2010
Date Finished: February 13, 2010

Summary: Rachel is the daughter of a Black GI and a Danish mother. After a terrible accident, she goes to live with her Black grandmother in a racially divided area. As she grows older, she learns how to survive in her racialized world and learns the truth of her family's tragic accident that claimed their lives. 

Likes: I like all the point of views that came together to tell Rachel's story. Durrow stated at her reading that she is marketing this book as a mystery, love, and coming-of-age story and it is just that. There is the mystery behind the accident that claimed Rachel's family and the mystery of whether the other characters, Laronne (Nella's friend) and Brick (a boy who saw the accident) will be able to solve the truth about that fateful day. There is the love between Roger and Nella, Rachel's black father and Danish mother, a mother's love for her children, and ultimately Rachel's love and acceptance of herself. This novel is honest, with Rachel wondering what side of the racial divide does she belong to. Sometimes she appears to be stuck up and at other times she appears to be confused. I believe that Durrow captured all the aspects of Rachel's personality.

I understood Rachel and her struggles, even though I am not biracial. The story speaks to me because Rachel could be any girl-- a girl like me who spent her most of her life being alienated by people of her own ethnicity, be accepted by another culture, and coming to a place where it either wasn't accepted or it was actually embraced. And yet, Rachel is Rachel with her own unique background and set of circumstances that make her who she is. The novel is about not being defined by others but by the person you make yourself to be. This story, in my opinion, will speak to anyone who just felt like they didn't belong whether they be Black, White, or in Rachel's case "other."   

Dislikes: I want to know what happens next. I believe Durrow chose a good spot to stop the story at and I feel that the ending is appropriate, but I still want to know what happens to Rachel at the overall end of the story.

Overall: I heard a lot of buzz about this novel through the blogosphere and I did some research on the novel. I found out that the author was coming to Writer's Week at UC Riverside, I was ecstatic. I bought an advanced copy a week before it came out and I got the book signed. One of these days I'm going to give away copies of books like the big time bloggers, but not this one. I love this book. It's great.

Another strange thing that I want to confirm with the author if I ever get the chance is the newspaper article that she got the idea for the story from. I was telling my mom what the book was about and she told me that she heard a story about that when she lived in Long Beach. My mom mentioned that she saw the woman once or twice in church before the incident and she told me that only the daughter survived. It's really interesting.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Summary: Bobby is just an average fun loving teen who likes to hang out with his friends and party. Bobby is a good kid overall, but things take a turn for the worse when he realizes that his girlfriend, Nya, is pregnant. After a horrible ordeal during the delivery of their daughter, Bobby decides to raise Feather on his on as a single teenage father.

Likes: The best aspect of this story in my opinion was that as a reader, I didn't ever feel sorry for Bobby. The author envoked the old adage of Empathy not Sympathy with the character of Bobby and his care for his daughter, Feather. Sometimes Bobby did stupid things like get in trouble or leave his daughter asleep while he went to play basketball (thankfully he did notice and came back) and sometimes Bobby did incredible things like understanding his parent struggle and the tender moments shared with his daughter when she slept on his chest. As a reader, I was with Bobby, I understood how he felt but I never felt sorry for him and I also love how no one else in the book felt sorry for Bobby. They were willing to help him out when he needed it (and sometimes when he didn't).

The book was incredibly short and its brevity is one of its greatest strengths as well. I read the whole thing in about an hour or so and I was quite happy that it was short. Any longer and it might have bordered on sugary and overly sentimental. The writing was poetic without being overdone. Johnson writes the story in two different times "Now" (the past) and "Then" (the present). I believe that poetry of the writing and the length makes the narrative more cohesive and causes the theme and the emotions to resonate.

Dislikes: The story felt unfinished, as if the last part of the chapter was the beginning of something else. It is mention that this story is a prequel to another novel, written after the current novel. I would like to seek out this story entitled Heaven and see how the two books tie together. I wanted to know just a bit more about Nya as well. Her role in the story is important and while we do get a lot about her, I feel like there was just something missing, like how Bobby and Nya met.  

Overall: I loved this book. It was short, sweet and to the point. I look forward to reading the sequel/companion novel. It is interesting to hear teen pregnancy from the father's point of view, especially when he is put into the role of taking care of the child on his own. Johnson effectively captured Bobby's voice making his authentic and genuine.

Uhopping Adventure: Secret Son

Author's Notes: Sorry for the late post. There was a mini crisis at work, but now, crisis adverted and on to some more baby snatching adventures. . At any rate, some notes about this story. This story takes place long before our current heroes were ever thought of. For this U-hopping segment, I decide to go way back to the beginning with Vincent, the ultimate evil and villain in the current It's All Relative storyline. (definitely a candidate for the Evil Baby Orphanage, even if he is fictional). I feel really guilty for not being able to write a web fiction so this idea prompted a series of short vignettes about our characters, with the first being Vincent Akukami. So I hope you enjoy this post and if you want more U-hopping action go to the Strange Little Band LJ community and join and read all the baby stealing craziness (and read SLB  and all the other contributing authors work, you will not be disappointed).

Now without further adieu, I present "Secret Son".  

Secret Son

    The carriage ride from Idriova castle to Hirotaka's was pretty uneventful. The countryside was beautiful, but she had already seen it when she came to Idriova castle nearly a year ago to "seek refuge from the world" as her father put it. Everyone in their little town knew that she had been kicked out for being seventeen getting knocked up. It wasn't her fault, but she heard the mumblings and murmurings of the city folk. She had asked for it. She got what was coming to her.  

    Now Hirotaka wanted to see his son and Iracine couldn't deny him, lest she be beheaded or hung. 

    Vincent yanked the strands of her black hair and whined for her to continue bouncing him on her knee. She had been doing for the past hour. Before then she was rocking him, and before that she was tickling him, and before that she was singing to him. She knees were killing her, he was quite heavy for a nine month old, but every time she'd stop for just a moment, he'd start protesting. She already several scratches and bite marks from his fits.

    "You're spoiling him, Ira," her lover, Oliver, said. "Don't give him the power."

    Iracine chuckled at the thought of having a power struggle with a baby, but she knew Oliver was right. She couldn't bare to see her son in discomfort though. He was just a baby, but he was a cursed wolf and life was would be difficult. She could afford to indulge her son for just a little while longer.

    "This is a good workout," Iracine said. "If I can keep this up, I can have this baby bulge under control in a few hours time." 

    Oliver sighed and stretched out his arms. "Come to me, Vincent."

    The child looked confused and gave an apprehensive whine. "Come on, Vincent. Go to Rem." The child, thankfully went to Oliver and Iracine sighed with relief. She looked at the pair; Oliver with his brown hair and blue eyes and Vincent with his snow white hair and lime green eyes. Oliver certainly wasn't obligated to be in Vincent's life, but she hoped that he would be regardless. Oliver was more of a father to Vincent than Hirotaka was.

    Iracine wondered why Hirotaka suddenly wanted to see Vincent. Was it a publicity move? She heard that Hirotaka's wife was unable to produce a male heir, maybe he wanted some way of showing that it wasn't his fault. His seventeen year old mistress was able to have a son, aside from the white hair, freaky green eyes, and dangerously sharp teeth, a perfectly healthy son.

    "Mr. Remmington, Ms. Andwendyl, we have arrived at your destination," the driver said.

    Oliver spoke up. "Thank you... er..."

    "Anderson." Iracine filled in. Oliver's face was bright red. Iracine turned to face Hirotaka's castle. It appeared to jut out from the earth like a black blemish.

    Iracine took a deep breath. She felt Oliver slip his hand into hers, while carrying Vincent with his other arm. Together they walked towards the castle.

   

            *        *        *

    Hirotaka saw Iracine from the window and narrowed his eyes. She was with another man and that man was holding a child that was clearly not his. Hirotaka knew that was his son he could tell from the boy's white hair--maybe the only thing they shared. Hirotaka sent his wife out to be pampered for the day, she had been so depressed with the last miscarriage and all. He honestly didn't care about that, but that was the story he would tell the press if they ever asked. He needed her out of the way so he could talk to Iracine, the woman that should have been his wife, the mother of his son. 

    "Is that him?" a woman said from the shadows. "Do you even know the boy's name?"

    "Does it matter? You'll have him soon enough," Hirotaka said to the woman.

    "You can't do this on your own," she said. There was a tap on the door. "So I've enlisted in some help."