What You Have Left by Will Allison

Date Started: February 4, 2011
Date Finished: February 5, 2011

Summary:  When Holly was young, her mother died in a boating accident and her father dropped her off with her grandfather, Cal. Years later, Cal is suffering from Alzheimer's and is preparing the old farm for Holly to inherit. When Holly realizes that she has no one left, she goes to track down her father.

Likes: This is a novel I didn't think I would enjoy, but it was more about a family and their healing process instead of a "quest" type of novel for Holly to find her father. All of the characters were tragically and beautifully flawed and all were likable and humanized. We aren't told one way or the other to feel sympathy or disdain for one character over the other, they are just presented and the reader is left to make our own judgments, if necessary. I found that I didn't condemn Wylie for leaving his daughter and I love the way the author presented the characters and their stories. The narration isn't consistent, starting with first person and going from first to third to first in whatever order is deemed necessary to tell the story.

Dislikes: There wasn't much I disliked. The POV changes were a little jarring at first and they stopped at parts where I felt could have been a scene (but I definitely appreciate why they weren't included, it's a technique we have to learn at school about showing the small scenes, the quiet moments). eeee

Overall: I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I meant to read just a little bit, but I found myself having trouble pulling myself away from it. I was invested in these characters and they were so unique and dynamic that I couldn't figure out what it was about them that made them so three dimensional. I suppose it was the quiet moments that we saw that added up to the larger picture. I think that's where a lot of novels fail and this novel didn't. A lot of things show the big moments and things tend to get cliched when that happens, but this novel shows the quite seemingly mundane moments that make for poignant and thoughtful moments. I really enjoyed this novel, not just the story, but the storytelling technique through time skips and POV shifts was beautiful and really worked for the story.

Recommended by: My thesis advisor recommended it. Not for any particular reason other than she thought I would enjoy it and I did immensely.

Acquired: Borrowed from my thesis advisor

Anacaona: Golden Flower by Edwidge Danticat

Date Started: February 2, 2011
Date Finished: February 3, 2011

Summary: Anacaona was a high chieftess of Haiti during the late 1400s. This story chronicles her life from her marriage and birth of her daughter. Despite her apprehensiveness about being a ruler or a wife and mother, the impending invasion of the Spaniards threatens Anacaona and her family as well as the nation that she is destined to rule.

Likes: The prose was so lyrical and beautiful to read. Having read one of Danticat's adult novels for class, I'm glad that her language can translate well for a young adult/middle grade novel. The author took a lot of liberties considering that the tainos didn't have a written language, but rather told stories orally or through pictographs. There's not much in the way of plot until the last third of the book, but going through the daily routine of Anacaona is just nice because the way she describes certain customs of her people is so beautiful to read. Also it's nice to read one of these Royal Diaries stories from someone who was born in the country they are talking about. Danticat was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti. While it's not a requirement that people from certain countries can only tell their people's stories, it is definitely appreciated when someone does because they personally had a stake in everything that happened as opposed to hearing about it, then getting interested in it. Danticat states that she often heard this story as a child and was honored to write it for other people to read, enjoy, and most importantly share. 

Dislikes:  This is probably one of the most depressing stories in the Royal Diaries series that I've ever read. There is nothing wrong with the actual book, but since it's a historical book, most of us can surmise what came next. That's what makes the book depressing. Why we celebrate massive genocide for Colombus Day is beyond me, but reading historical accounts (fictional or otherwise) makes it obvious why we don't learn this stuff in elementary school (I didn't even learn any of this stuff until I got to college).

Overall: I like this book, even though it was sad. These are the books that should be encouraged for us to read in elementary school. This book however came out in 2005, so I was already a junior by then. If I had read this in elementary school, I'd definitely have a broader perspective on the world and the history that is taught to us opposed to what really happened. I'm sure any child who was as curious and inquisitive as I was would have went to search for more books regarding this topic.

Recommended by: U, at the library. We were in the middle grade section (the only time I go to that section is when I'm with U) and by the Dear America and Royal Diaries section when she points out a bright green book and goes "Look, it's about Haiti." Given what has happened in Haiti with the earthquakes and everything else, I thought it would be interesting to read. It was a good read, but it was depressing.

Acquired: Library

Book Blog Hop/ Follow Friday #1

Yay, I believe this is my first blog hop and follow friday for the year. I will most likely do this every other week until graduation when I can switch to doing it every week. Can you believe I have only 4 weeks left!? I feel like I'm going to faint. At any rate, on to the blog hop and follow friday questions!

What are you reading now and why are your reading it? 

I am currently reading What You Have Left by Will Allison because my thesis advisor recommended it. I find myself not being able to tear myself away from it, even though I have to sleep and hopefully go to work tomorrow. I'm finding myself working this book around my schedule, figuring if I can finish the book now, I can go to sleep after work before my meeting at 3. It's very rare that a book can do that for me, especially this type of book which is more literary than action. I find myself invested with thses characters and I'm curious to see where it goes. I'm also going to start reading Bhangra Babes by Narinder Dhami, and possibly start listening to Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld at some point. We'll see.

What is the book you are currently 'pushing'?

I'm always pushing people towards The Hunger Games, but it usually depends on the people who ask me for book recommendations. For contemporary reads, I typically recommend John Green, Maureen Johnson, and most recently Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. For darker edgier reads, I'd recommend Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chobsky, and the Hate List and anything by Ellen Hopkins. For PoC, I definitely recommend The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow and Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, and Highwire Moon by Susan Straight. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a fantasy, YA or Adult, that has completely wowed me recently, so I can't really push anything moreso than say I didn't enjoy it, but maybe you will.books in this category include Graceling and if people haven't read it yet, The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (which wowed me at the time I read it)