Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

One of the things I love about the interwebs, and blogging in general, is that I come into contact with so many books that I would never otherwise have heard about. Although I don't have time to follow a ton of blogs, I do read my share, and keep a running list of books coming out that I'm interested in. (And I pin some of them too, just for future reference.) It's a very dangerous habit to have, considering that my average workday already brings me into contact with all kinds of bookish goodness, but at least this way I'll never run out of things I want to read, right?

Somewhere in my bloggy travels, I ran across a review for today's pick, Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz. The book stuck in my head, probably as much for the unique title as for the cover art, which is flat-out awesome -- kudos to Candlewick for such an eyecatching cover. And I'm so happy I had this one on my radar, because it's absolutely one of the most incredible middle-grade novels I've read in quite some time.

First off I need to say that this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's far from formulaic in the subject matter, it's historical, and it's got a slow start. Okay, then, so if you're still reading along, let me say that what makes this work is author Gewirtz's absolute fearlessness in her writing. She never pulls a punch, never backs down from a tense moment in the plot and isn't afraid to make her characters inscrutable. You don't often see that kind of bravery in one who writes for such a young audience - not to say that there aren't amazing middle-grade authors out there, but honestly there aren't many who are willing to pull their characters through the wringer with no definitive solution to the crisis in sight. That's guts, my friends.

So on to the plot: It's June, 1980, against the backdrop of the Iran Hostage Crisis. Annie and Rew are living with their grandmother, a loving but reclusive woman who has trouble dealing with everyday life. They remember their mother, who dropped them off with Gran and gave scarcely a backward look. But their father is a blank. Gran tells them he was killed by "an angry man", in a fight gone badly. So Annie makes up possible stories to assuage her curiosity, and in the meantime she pretty much takes care of everything around the house when Gran is debilitated. It's not a perfect situation, but it works.

Until one night there's a noise at the back door, and an escaped convict appears in their kitchen. Annie and her brother are scared witless. It's evident that the man means to keep the little family hostage. And then Gran comes downstairs, and in a flash Annie and Rew discover that what they thought they knew about their lives is all swept away. In its place is a new reality, one each child approaches from a different perspective.

I won't give away the secrets here, but suffice to say Gewirtz employs multiple layers of issues to drive her story along. There is gorgeous imagery here, the kind that makes you want to reread entire passages to catch all of it. The character development unfolds slowly; though their roles may be familiar, their personalities are wholly unique. Annie herself is an unreliable narrator at times, and she admits it. In fact, honesty and truth are a running theme throughout, as readers discover that the lives of these characters are as variegated as the Zebra Forest that sits behind their home. There are no easy answers, just like in real life, a facet of this novel that I particularly appreciate. It would be simple for Gewirtz to wrap things up with a bow, but that wouldn't be true to the spirit of her characters. Lucky for us, Gewirtz chooses authenticity.

In the Zebra Forest, chocolate oak and white birch trees mingle to give the wood a striped light-and-dark element. In the same way, Zebra Forest the book threads conflict and heartache with hope and truth. Watch out for this one, it'll get under your skin.

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz, published by Candlewick Press
Ages 9-13
Source: Library
Sample: "Gran never went out there except near dusk, when the shadows gathered. She usually didn't go out in full sunlight, and told me once she didn't like the lines the trees made. Gran was always saying stuff like that. Perfectly beautiful things -- like a clean blue sky over the Zebra -- made tears come to her eyes, and if I tried to get her to come outside with me, she'd duck her head and hurry upstairs to bed. But then it would be storming, lightning sizzling the tops of the trees, and she'd run round the house, cheerful, making us hot cocoa and frying up pancakes and warming us with old quilts."
Recommended

Chapter Book Review - Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

For some authors, I would imagine the news that they've won a major award like the Newbery is followed almost immediately by a sense of panic at how they're going to follow that up. I mean, you know that the eyes of the kidlit world are going to be trained on your next effort, that the inevitable comparisons are going to be made and that a critical few aren't going to be satisfied no matter what you produce. This kind of pressure, I'd think, might just be paralyzing. No doubt that's why some folks decide to go in an entirely different direction for their next work.

And at first glance that's what Rebecca Stead did with her new book Liar & Spy, the realistic fiction novel that follows her 2010 Newbery win for When You Reach Me. I thoroughly enjoyed Stead's last book, even though -- true confession time here -- I just never liked A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle's classic work that forms the center around which When You Reach Me is built. But Stead is an assured storyteller, a meticulous writer whose characterization always builds the plot and remains authentic to the people she has created. And those engaging characters where what drew me through the novel, and caused me to go back and reread large chunks of it once I got to the end (which I will not spoil for you, dear reader, but suffice to say it's a doozy).

In Liar & Spy, Stead gives us the story of Georges -- yes, as in Seurat, the painter he's named for -- and his struggle to survive daily life and middle school. School's definitely the worst part, as Georges deals with the "typical bully crap" dished out by the odious Dallas Llewellyn on a regular basis. But home's been a little rough too, since his dad lost his job and the family had to move to an apartment building. Oh, and his mom, a nurse in the ICU, seems to be gone all the time too, and Georges misses her intensely. His main consolation seems to be his friendship with the intensely strange Safer, a boy Georges' age whose "bohemian" parents also take Georges under their wings. Safer drinks coffee, walks dogs for money and doesn't go to school. And then there's the little matter of Safer's spy career, and the project he ropes Georges in on: spying on the neighbor Safer calls Mr. X, whose strange comings and goings Safer is determined to puzzle out. Harriet M. Welsch should watch herself with Safer around.

Georges is the kind of kid most people can relate to - slightly oddball but not really kooky, someone who wants more than just to survive but who also wants to be himself. The thing is, though, middle school isn't really a time when uniqueness is celebrated, and so Georges is torn. At home, he's hanging out with Safer, who in absolutely no uncertain terms is hell-bent on being his own person. But at school, Georges wants to fit in. And he's afraid, terribly afraid, that he's about to be marked as "a big phlegmy wad of geek", as Dallas puts it, thanks to the taste test that all kids take in the 7th grade (a pretty nifty bit of narrative on Stead's part - she's really tapped in to the kinds of tools that bullies can use against others). So Georges is stuck with one foot in both worlds, as all the while he's trying to sort out just where he belongs.

Liar & Spy is a slim little book, just 180 pages, but don't be fooled: every page packs a punch. Stead says more in this novel than many adult books four times its length, and I found myself constantly flipping back and forth to pick up a thread I'd missed along the way. While strong readers will find this enjoyable, and love watching how she ties everything together at the end, kids who are less confident readers may struggle with this aspect. But this would be a great novel to read together with your child, as it opens up lots of opportunities to discuss what life in middle school's really like, what they might be going through that mirrors Georges' experience or that reminds them of someone they know.

Liar & Spy is a puzzle much like life, one that seems impossible close-up but from a distance will dazzle you with its brilliance. Above all, this novel will resonate with anyone who found this period of their life to be particularly trying, who felt they were trying on personas like new shoes with none seeming to quite fit. It says a whole lot about bravery: not the kind of grand gestures and heroics, but the smaller sort, that helps you get through every day when you're not sure just how you can. And that, it seems to me, is the most difficult kind.

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead, published by Random House Children's Books
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample: "Dallas Llewellyn passes me on the way to his seat, saying 'You're it, Gorgeous,' and flicking the top of my ear with his finger. I ignore him. Dallas is always on the lookout for other people's weak spots so that he knows exactly where to poke them. And if you don't have a weak spot, he'll invent one and poke you anyway."
Recommended

YA Review - Ashes by Kathryn Lasky

Some time periods in history are so widely written about that it hardly seems as if we need more books about it. World War II is arguably one of these. It's not that it isn't worth reading titles set during this timeframe, it's just that with so many quality options already on the shelves, are there still other viewpoints we haven't examined?

In Ashes, Kathryn Lasky manages to give us a different perspective - that of Gaby Schramm, an upper class German girl who gets an inside look at the formation of Hitler's Third Reich. Gaby's parents are close enough to the social elite that they know many powerful people in Germany's upper echelon. Professor Schramm is a colleague of Albert Einstein, and the two families vacation together during summers in Caputh. The Schramms watch with growing horror as Einstein and other prominent scientists are singled out for their "Jewish physics", as friends are banned from social events due to their ethnicity, and as those who make the wrong comment in a public setting suddenly disappear.

Gaby herself despises Hitler and all his government stands for; and yet, she finds herself going along with the required "Heil Hitler" salute when it becomes part of her school day. Though she refuses to join the Hitler Youth, it is not until one of the Reich's new policies touches close to home that Gaby finds the courage to really define her opposition, and to turn with her parents toward another life.

I picked Ashes up looking for something like The Book Thief; while I found Zusak's book more compelling, Ashes is still a strongly written title with a unique take on the events of Nazi Germany. As the heat gradually turns up around the Schramm family, Lasky shows us how the political events combine with Gaby's own internal struggles to give her an increasing awareness of the world at large. Forced to confront the effect that politics has on her own household, Gaby grows up very quickly - maybe too quickly, as she often has insights that seem beyond her own years. And yet, in times such as these, doesn't maturity come all too suddenly?

Though some libraries shelve this in the children's section, there are themes here that seem more suited to teens, particularly a plotline revolving around Gaby's sister Ulla and her boyfriend Karl. The overall message, too, is one that will speak to young adults in a more immediate way -- that of reconciling the world you've grown up with alongside that you've come to know, which in Gaby's case is one that conflicts in nearly every aspect with her pampered childhood. Lasky ties in connections to actual historical figures, weaving them into her cast of characters so seamlessly that the events of Nazi Germany come alive as we read.

Ashes is, above all, a subtle and unforgettable piece of historical fiction, and a worthy contribution to the canon of World War II literature.

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky, published by Viking
Ages 12 up
Source: Library
Sample: "I thought of that swirl of sugar on the kitchen floor from years before. How could Hitler cause so many problems? I put down the binoculars. The scrap of moon had slipped away, making the dark even darker and the stars even brighter. They scorched the blackness with their fire. Ninety-two elements to bake a universe and one madman to blow it up?"
Recommended

Chapter Book Review - The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright

With some notable exceptions (Charlotte's Web, The Cricket in Times Square, Bunnicula, The Mouse and the Motorcycle), I'm usually not that thrilled with chapter books that have animal narrators. I'm not sure just why -- maybe it feels a bit contrived, and maybe the anthropomorphism just goes too far with some books. Hard to say. With picture books, I'm a lot more forgiving, but a chapter book usually has to run at least a little bit on empathy and shared experience, and, well, I've never been a cat or a dog or a mouse, so how should I know what that feels like?

All that goes out the window, though, for a book that marries Dickensian wit with a nice twisty plot, and lines like "Animals carry time in their bones." More, please!

Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright have crafted a pitch-perfect book in The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale. The plot seems straightforward: alley cat Skilley has found the perfect gig at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, an inn in the heart of London renowned for its amazing cheese. Since the inn is overrun with mice (see: amazing cheese), Skilley's pretty much got a job for life as far as the humans go. But Skilley is not what he seems, and he'll do anything -- including forming an alliance with a rascally mouse named Pip -- to keep his secret hidden. Enter a villain in the form of skulking, sneaking tomcat Pinch, and an even more mysterious personage in the attic, and you have the makings of a novel that captures the very spirit of Dickens' best.

There's a good bit of authentic dialogue here, which might trip up a less fluent reader. However, this is easily handled with the inclusion of a glossary at the back, which provides a great opportunity to teach a few research skills as well. The illustrations by Barry Moser are moodily evocative and put you right inside the Cheshire Cheese with Skilley and Pip as they flee the domineering cook. I love the addition of illustrations in a book like this, where complex vocabulary and plot combine with plenty of white space and pictures, in a balance that keeps readers from being overwhelmed. The drama builds to an appropriately thrilling climax that is complex enough to satisfy adults but not so hard to grasp that kids will be lost. All in all, a perfect title for reading aloud -- with short enough chapters that "just one more" seems a reasonable request.

Bottom line: if you love Merry Olde England and want to share that with your kids, The Cheshire Cheese Cat is the book for you. But don't be disappointed if they read on ahead -- a book like this is too much fun to hold back!

The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright, published by Peachtree Publishers
Ages 8-12
Source: Library
Sample quote: "He was the best of toms. He was the worst of toms." (Love it!)
Recommended

Bonus! Read more about how this novel came about on the Peachtree Publishers blog.

Chapter Book Review - Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis

Right over our back fence is a patch of land that the owners have pretty much left alone. There's a  plum tree, some grapevines, and blackberries galore. This jumble of wildness presses itself into our fence, bursting over the top and shoving aside random boards in its untameable chaos.

We love it.

And it was this very wildness that I thought of from the first pages of Wildwood, the richly imaginative new novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. The book is set in Portland, OR, but a Portland unlike that most people know, one bordered by the fierce forest known as the Impassable Wilderness. Residents know to avoid these woods entirely. Prue McKeel and Curtis Mehlberg aren't sure just why, as their parents never really talk about it -- but when Prue's baby brother Mac is snatched by a murder of crows who fly into the Impassable Wildness, suddenly everything changes. Prue is determined to get her brother back, and Curtis is equally set on helping her, so, somewhat trepidatiously, into the Wilderness they go.

What they find is something they are completely unprepared for. Armies of talking coyotes, regiments of birds, deposed rulers trying to regain power, and always, everywhere, wildness and magic. Prue and Curtis soon are in the thick of it, trying to piece together which side they should be fighting for and just how Mac could disappear like he did. And the deeper Prue and Curtis get into the woods, the more they discover about themselves, their families, and how dense the wildness really is.

Wildwood is the kind of book that fantasy lovers long for, vividly detailed and fantastically suspenseful. Meloy's writing is offset perfectly by Ellis's illustrations, whimsical and just a bit dangerous. I love the use of color plates inset at points throughout the story -- it reminds me of old editions of the Oz books that I used to pore over. And, in fact, Wildwood owes a lot to L. Frank Baum, C.S. Lewis and even Lewis Carroll, as readers of these authors will find much that's familiar but also a completely new departure in this novel. Curtis in particular was quite reminiscent of Edmund from Narnia, at least at first, but then Curtis's own character emerges and we can see that he's definitely a personality all his own. My favorite bit was the bandits, especially the Bandit King Brendan, that rakish devil.

I can't wait for the next entry in this series, to catch up with Prue and Curtis and visit Wildwood once more. Share this with anyone who loves magic, mystery and epic adventure -- whether you read it aloud or they jump in all your own, Wildwood is one to curl up with on a stormy winter night (and keep reading long past your bedtime!).

Wildwood by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis; published by Balzer + Bray
Ages 9 up
Source: Library
Sample quote: "'Impassable Wilderness? Oh boy, would that it were. I might have a little more time at home. Nah, I don't know who told you that, but you Outside folk have got it all wrong. 'Course, you're the first of your kind I've ever seen here, so it stands to reason that no one ever made an effort to find out about the Wood -- Wild, North, or South.' He looked at Prue and smiled. 'Seems like you just might be our first pioneer, Port-Land Prue.'"
Highly recommended

For more about Wildwood, check out this interview with Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis!

Chapter Book Review - As Simple As It Seems by Sarah Weeks

One reason I think I'm drawn especially to middle grade novels is that the characters are generally right in the throes of the struggle for identity. Novels for teens address similar issues, but the audience is closer to adulthood. In the middle grade years, we're all caught in that trap of beginning to leave childhood behind and grow up. This can make for a complex muddle of emotions and conflicts, when what we want and what we think we should do are often at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Such is the case for the heroine of  Sarah Weeks' novel As Simple As It Seems, Verbena Colter, twelve years old and dealing with a whole lot of turmoil. Verbena has grown up thinking she knew her life story, only to find out that her reality isn't what she knew at all. Suddenly a huge family secret is revealed, leaving Verbena to piece together meaning and a  new self-identity. Understandably this is a lot for Verbena, and so when she has the chance to be someone else with her new friend Pooch, she grabs it. But can she really be the friend Pooch needs if she can't tell him who she is? And who is that exactly?

I don't want to let out a huge spoiler for this novel, so I won't reveal Verbena's secret. But let's just say it's the kind of thing that would throw anyone for a loop, much less a girl who's already at a crossroads in her life just due to her age and development. Add to this Verbena's struggles with her own delays and her best friend Annie's sudden interest in makeup and boys, and you can see why Verbena might want to be someone else. At times it seemed as if Weeks had really piled a lot on Verbena, but when you think about it, isn't that the way life goes? It does for me, at least. And what's admirable is that Verbena handles it like a real kid would -- not always gracefully, not always wisely, and sometimes by lashing out at the people who love her most.

Verbena is the kind of character kids will relate to and empathize with. Even those who haven't faced the same challenges Verbena copes with can understand her, a girl who just wants life to go back the way it used to be. This is a solidly written, believable novel by an author who clearly relates to her audience.

As Simple As It Seems by Sarah Weeks, published by HarperCollins
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Sample quote: "I could have told those boys to knock it off, or at least given them a dirty look -- especially Chris, whose guts I already hated for another reason. But instead of defending my mother, I closed my eyes and wished with all my might that I could be somebody else -- anybody besides me."
Recommended