Book Review: Gap Creek

"Gap Creek" by Robert Morgan, is the story of a young girl named Julie, set in the Appalachian high country in the final years of the nineteenth century. We are introduced to her when her brother dies a horrible, quite graphic death in her arms. She soon loses her father as well as is burdened with assuming the responsibility of her father in taking care of the family farm. She is 15 when she is swept off her feet by Hank Richards. He marries her and takes her to live in a small cabin in Gap Creek where he rents a room from Mr. Pendergast in exchange for meals and upkeep of the place. 

Julie’s story is one of hard work and heartbreak. Her life is a hard frontiering life . She quickly learns that marriage can be difficult as well. Things start out well for the marriage despite Mr. Pendergast demeaning treatment of Julie and often times crude remarks. The challenge of growing food and raising and slaughtering animals leads to a devastating accident that changes the course of their lives quite dramatically. 

Julie’s story is one of work, love, determination and heartache. She is faced with hope and regret, in her decisions and handles most things with the maturity I know I didn’t have at 15 or 16 years of age. She is quite the amazing young lady. Julie’s inner strength somehow pulls her through her challenges. She relates it this way. 

 “Then I took a bucket and rag and washed the floor. It made me feel strong to get down on my knees on those rough boards. It was like a morning prayer, kneeling on the cold boards and crawling backwards to rub away any dirt with the rag. As I scrubbed the floor I was s rubbing part of the world. And I was scrubbing my mind to make it clear. It was work that made me think clear, and it was work that made me humble. I could never talk fast, and I could never say what I meant to people, or tell them what they meant to me. My tongue never loosened my feelings. It was with my hands and with my back and shoulders that I could say how I felt. I had to talk with my arms and my strong hands.”

 She spends a lot of time alone in that cabin on Gap Creek until she opens her heart and home to the local Christian church. This part was a relief for me, to finally see her find the support of other women that she needed so desperately. 

"The world wouldn't have lasted this long if women didn't help each other," Elizabeth said.
"The world would be a better place if people helped each other more," Joannes said.
That night as I laid in bed, I kept thinking about how kind Joanne and Elizabeth had been to me. It made me feel growed up and kind myself to be treated that way. It made me feel like I was a bigger person. They made me want to be better.

 The author does a fantastic job of getting inside a woman’s mind and describing those thoughts and feelings of connection and interaction that women have with one another. Another example of that is when Julie has her first baby, all by herself in the cabin. The description of labor and childbirth are so accurate and beautiful. I could relate to every word. 

There were a few parts of the book that I didn’t care for. The scene of her brother dying was pretty graphic and gross. There are also several scenes of intimacy. Although they are between husband and wife and therefore moral, I still did not want to read about it and skipped as much as I could. If I were to recommend a book in this genre, I would recommend a different one. Although it was a good book, I can think of others I would recommend first.  

Book Review: Scumble

Learning to scumble a new savvy is not easy. At least that’s what Ledger Kale thinks.

Ledger Kale, the main character in “Scumble” by Ingrid Law, was hoping his savvy would be something useful, like running at lightning speed. But when his 13^th birthday rolls around and things start falling apart, literally, his hopes for his future are destroyed, along with the family van and anything else held together with nuts and bolts. Ledger Kale’s savvy is being able to tear things apart and he is not happy about it.

When the family drives to Uncle Autry’s bug ranch in Wyoming for cousin Fish’s wedding, things go from bad to worse. In an effort to help Ledger learn to scumble or control his savvy, his parents leave him and his sister, Fedora, at the ranch for the summer. The ranch is the perfect place for using your savvy without worry of discovery, out in the wide open spaces of Wyoming and is home to several other cousins who are working on scumbling. Things get really complicated when 13 year old Sara Jane Cabot stumbles into Ledger’s life and sees his savvy at work. The problem is that she runs a self-published newspaper called the Sundance Scuttlebutt and is about to blow the whistle on what goes on up at the ranch, which has just been foreclosed on by her father. Now it’s a race against time and Sara Jane, to save the ranch and keep the family secret a secret.

Ledger is a typical 13 year old, full of self-doubt and extra energy, to which most kids, boys and girls both, will relate. His savvy is most active when he is nervous, angry, or embarrassed which seems like all the time, especially when you’re in the middle of puberty. Introducing a girl, Sarah Jane, into the mix makes it all the worse to the point that he doubts he will ever regain control of himself. I believe most kids will relate to those feelings. As in Savvy, I really appreciated the simple love story. It was innocent, fun and completely age appropriate, which seems really hard to find these days.

Ledger learns a lot about himself throughout his adventure. In the final climatic scene of the novel he says, “Closing my eyes, I bowed my head, wondering…praying…demanding to know: Dear God, what had I been built to do?” This prayer could be offered by anyone, young and old, anytime making the novel relatable to all who read it. And his prayers are answered as he discovers his savvy is not just to tear things down. “But now I knew too,…that sometimes things have to come apart before becoming something different-something better.”

This young adolescent novel is fantastic and lives up to the expectations left by its predecessor, “Savvy.” It is full of new family characters, each with their own unique savvy and a few carry-over characters, such as Rocket. The new savvies, as well as old, are fun to see and the characters interact as a family would. The characters are diverse and interesting. This book is just wonderful. It’s full of adventure and discovery.  Just like “Savvy,” I recommend it for all pre-teens and up.

Book Review: The Graveyard Book

What would you do, if your parents were murdered? What if you were the only child and had no one else to care for you? What if you were only 1 year old?

What if you found yourself in a graveyard and it was there that people, or more accurately, ghosts, opened their hearts and mausoleums to you?

That is exactly how Bod’s story begins in “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman. Bod’s real name is, well, we don’t really know. He has been Bod Owens, short for Nobody, for as long as he can remember. He is taken care of by the ghosts of the cemetery. He is adopted by a very nice, elderly couple. He is also watched over by Silas who, for undisclosed reasons, has the ability to leave the graveyard and is able to find food and provisions for Bod. He is also Bod’s teacher and instructs him in academics. In addition, he instructs in fading, disappearing and other abilities that come in handy when you live in a graveyard.

Bod has many adventures as he explores his new home. He meets interesting characters, both living and dead. But the real adventure begins when he decides to leave the graveyard, which is his home and also a safe haven from the people who murdered his parents and may still be searching for him.

This novel was fun to read. A unique setting and character sets it apart from other books. Bod was a very relatable character as a curious and lonely boy, left to fill his own time in the graveyard. He makes mistakes that most young boys would fall prey to in such a mysterious place. His coming-of-age story is entertaining and satisfying. My only problem with it was that there were so many other characters I wanted to learn more about. His parents, both living (then dead) and ghost, for example. And what about the witch? What is her story? The Jack of All Trades group probably has an interesting origination. Most of all, I would like to learn more about Silas, Bod’s teacher and protector. Who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he different?

Although I was left with a lot of questions regarding other aspects of the book, the story of Bod I felt was sufficient. This is a sweet coming of age story with adventure, mistakes and growth, and a sweet little love story.

Book Review: Among the Hidden/ Among the Imposters

I’m two books into the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix and I’m itching to get my hands on the 3^rd (out of 7) book. Parker introduced me to these books and was pretty excited about them. The first book, “Among the Hidden,” introduces us to young Luke. He spends a lot of his time outdoors on his family’s farm, running wild and free as any 8-year-old is inclined to do when he has no school and can’t go into town. All is heaven for him until he is forced inside as other homes are built nearby. He is in danger of being seen by others, which is a bad idea for him, because he is a third child. The penalty? Death.

In this world, severe famine and other factors have driven the government to regulate families to two children and only two. This is enforced by the population police, who mean business. So Luke goes into hiding in the attic of his room and is never allowed in any of the main areas of the house, let alone outside. So he spends a lot of his time looking out the small slits in the attic vent. It is there that he discovers he may not be the only third child and his adventures begin.

The next book is “Among the Imposters.”  Luke continues his adventure in a different setting under a different name. He continues to make discoveries about his status as a third child and what that means and who is involved in efforts to thwart the population police.

These are such fun books. The characters are well drawn and the situations are believable and real. It’s a quick read, definitely suitable for a 2-5 grade level. Even though the intended audience is so young, the story kept me interested and entertained, imagining a world with population police and restrictions that force young members of society into hiding.

Book Review: Enchantment

I am a softie for fairy tales and retellings. Is it any wonder I couldn’t resist “Enchantment” by Orson Scott Card? This novel is a retelling or expanding of the story of Baba Yaga, a Russian fairy tale. We begin by learning about Itzak/Vanya/Ivan Smetski and his early years in Russia, then Kiev (Ukraine) and eventually America, when still a young boy. Before Ivan’s family move to America, he and his parents stay a while with Cousin Marek near Kiev, where Ivan enjoys running through the forest. He is only around 10 years old when he happens upon a clearing where he imagines fairy tales might take place. Much to his surprise, the leaves start churning and a pedestal is revealed in the center of the clearing with a beautiful girl asleep on a bed. He is mesmerized by her, perhaps even in love already. The rapidly churning leaves and appearance of some sort of being underneath them scares him and he runs away. And thus plants the seed for his own real life fairy tale. Later in American, Ivan’s graduate study on the earliest beginnings of fairy tales leads him back to Russia and Kiev, and eventually back to the same magical clearing and the sleeping woman, where he soon finds out for sure what is under the churning leaves as he becomes the hero and saves the sleeping princess.

Quote: “He had done what he came to do – he cleared away the leaves, defeated the beast, crossed the chasm, woke the princess. That was as far as the stories ever went. None of the stories included shivering naked between forest and pit, the princess scorning you as a peasant…”

This is where the story really takes off. Ivan and the princess, Katarina travel between both her land and his as they try to outwit and outrun the evil witch, Baba Yaga and save her kingdom. Orson Scott Card does a wonderful job of describing the emotion and conflicts of being in a place where the customs and expectations are different as they jump between centuries. Belief systems and traditions are miles apart. I really enjoyed watching Ivan and Katarina, work through the conflicts created by having to learn and adapt to the different social environments. It was one of the highlights to see them work through their emotions and challenges. Another highlight was to read about a love story that isn’t love at first sight and doesn’t turn around on a dime for a happy ending. Ivan and Katarina struggle through real, honest, feelings as their relationship develops. I loved that it wasn’t smooth and easy.

Most of the characters are very likeable and strong. Though the stereotypical fairy tale characters are present, (hero, princess, anti-hero, villain, sidekick, and shunned woman) they are not truly stereotypical because the character development is deep enough to make them individuals you are interested in. The plot keeps moving along and never gets old or boring or predictable with a few clever twists and turns. The villain, Baba Yaga, is definitely a villain and lives up to the name. She is a little nasty and by that I mean there is a trend for some of her dialog and topic of conversation to be a little on the sexual side and the language a little coarse (swear words). It bothered me a little. Definitely adult topics and language.

I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to other adults. Because of the adult topics and language in some parts of the book, I would not recommend this to young readers. It was entertaining and really fun to read about a fairy tale you don’t hear referred too much at all.

Book Review: New York

"New York" written by Edward Rutherford was a fascinating read, even for historical fiction. This genre can be tricky to write sometimes because authors will weigh heavy on history or heavy on fiction and the one or the other is left lacking. But I felt none of that, which is notable, because this book spans a whopping 400 years. Rutherford successfully mixes fictional and real characters to create a fantastic history of the city, making the city itself one of the most, captivating characters in the novel.

Beginning in New Amsterdam, in 1664, we are introduced to Dirk vanDyck, a Dutchman and his relationship with the local indian tribes who originally inhabited the area. From there, we begin to follow the Master family and they live in the city of New York through all its history and happenings. 

It covers a lot of ground and I guess if I had one complaint, it would be that I forgot sometimes where I was and who was who, who begat who and so forth.  Sometimes I would think, "Man, that happened 100 years ago." And it did. The novel covers a lot of ground. When I decided to not let that bother me anymore, I became absorbed by the story of this family. 

It was so interesting to read about the back and forth of politics in the early stages of America (before it was the United States) particularly with France, England and the New World. One of my favorite parts was the Revolutionary War. The complicated relationships between the federalists and loyalists, especially among family members was so interesting. I particularly loved the Master family throughout this portion of the novel. The family relationships were honest and gave me a perspective I had never really thought about before.

Beyond the revolutionary war, we read about slavery, the civil war, war draft riots, financial troubles, the great depression, hippie movements, immigrants and the list goes on. In fact, there is not much that is not mentioned. There were all sorts of tidbits about architecture, art, theater, finance, politics, weather. Although I'm sure I missed a lot because I know a lot, what I did catch was so interesting. 

The fictional family is fun to read about. Their relationships are complicated and not always pretty. There are happy marriages as well as love affairs, undisciplined, disobedient children and honest, respectful relationships. I came to enjoy the family very much and was very interested in where history (their future) would lead them. Without that interest, the novel would have flopped.

The story ends on 9/11, when the twin towers fell. The more current parts of the novel seem to move more quickly to get to the end, and aren't quite as interesting as the previous parts. Maybe because I live in this world and I know what's coming. It is still a satisfying ending, though, with a great connection to the early chapters of the book. Overall, I came to admire and enjoy the Master family and would love to book a ticket for New York.

Book Review: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

I just finished reading The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It had been highly recommended and had been on my reading list for quite some time. Unfortunately, I think it was a case of expectations that were set too high because of the recommendation and anticipation. Don’t get me wrong, the book was great but did not meet the possibly unrealistic expectation I had for it. It just felt really disjointed with no solid development.

The book is about Precious Ramotswe, a private detective in Botswana. I was expecting a good mystery story. She is a private detective after all. I was confused at first, that we learned so much about her past, her father and upbringing, her indiscretions and challenges. After I realized the nature of the book, I started to enjoy it more. There are passages that are so beautiful in imagery, describing the landscape of Africa and the community in which Precious lives. I always enjoy reading about other cultures and countries. All the background sets the stage for nice character development in Precious.

However, Precious is one of the only characters I feel is adequately developed. Most of the other characters are the clients that come into the agency. Though the cases are entertaining enough, I don’t feel like they propelled the story in any real direction. And the final case, made reference to early on in an ambiguous story, not related to anything at all, really, feels empty because the connections and development were never very deep.

Beyond that, though, there were several parts that I really enjoyed. One was the attitude regarding the value of a woman.  A cousin raised Precious during the early years of her life. She was a meticulous teacher at home. By the time Precious started school, at age 6, she would have been considered very gifted, by our standards. In response to all this mothering, educating and nurturing, Obed, Precious’s father “had thanked her, and done so often, and generously, but it had not occurred to him to praise her, because in his view she was just doing her duty as a woman and there was nothing special about that.

“We are the ones who first ploughed the earth when Modise (God) made it,” ran an old Setswana poem. “We were the ones who made the food. We are the ones who look after the men when they are little boys, when they are young men, when they are old and about to die. We are always there. But we are just women, and nobody sees us.”

I think that may be a common attitude towards women, especially in certain cultures. I’m grateful that I don’t have to deal with that kind of mentality here and now. How draining.

 Another part I thought was hilarious was this. Precious is talking about the sense of confidentiality that doctors have, something she feels she has that in common with them, being a private detective. She reflects on how she doesn’t really have anything to hide anyway. Then she admits, “Now constipation was quite a different matter. It would be dreadful for the whole world to know about troubles of that nature. She felt terribly sorry for people who suffered from constipation, and she knew that there were many who did. There were probably enough of them to form a political party – with a chance of government perhaps – but what would such a party do if it was in power? Nothing, she imagined. It would try to pass legislation, but would fail.”

Besides Precious, the only other character who really mattered at all was her friend, a mechanic, J.L.B. Matekoni. The love story between the two, at least from his point of view, is so humble and genuine. I wanted to know more about him. 

There were occasional nuggets of gold thrown out, thoughts that caused me to think and added depth of character and emotion. For example, this one regarding the challenges facing Africa.“There was so much suffering in Africa that it was tempting just to shrug your shoulders and walk away. But you can’t do that, she thought. You just can’t.” But the nuggets were just too few and far between without enough development of character to hold me over. They just made me wish for more of something that wasn't there.

It was a fine book. I'm glad I read it. But I'm not racing to get the next one in the series because I don't feel connection to any characters or storyline. Recommendation: 3/5.