Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Audiobook Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, Grace. 2010. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. Read by Janet Song. Listening Library (Audio) Unabridged Edition. ISBN 9780307746047.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

A young girl named Minli lives simply with her parents, Ma and Ba, in a town nestled in the valley of Fruitless Mountain. With a cast of characters that includes The Old Man of the Moon, Dragon, Magistrate Tiger, The Buffalo Boy, and many others, Minli sets off on a journey to Never-Ending Mountain, with the hopes of improving her family's fortune. Her discoveries and lessons along the way, peppered by numerous vignette short stories, teach the young girl, and the reader, the most important lesson of all.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Janet Song's excellent reading of WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON is at once delightful and engaging. The listener becomes instantly enthralled by the characters, the beautiful color imagery, the nuances of personalities, and the plot of the story. Song's seamless transition between character "voices" illustrates a clear picture of each individual character, and there are quite a number of them throughout the story. The pacing of the storytelling is done perfectly, and the reader experiences the emotions right along with the characters.

Grace Lin's choice to organize the book into small chapters, each featuring smaller, story-within-a-story sections, adds to the excitement, learning, and history that weaves together the entire larger story. The smaller stories are lessons in themselves, with morals that may apply to situations outside of this story, each with a descriptive title: "The Story of Jade Dragon," "The Story of the Goldfish Man," "The Story of the Old Man of the Moon."

The characters are imminently familiar, offering the reader a glimpse into the variety of accolades and flaws that exist within humankind. Though the setting is fantastic, with talking goldfish, mysterious magical mountains, and dragons, Lin's descriptive language keeps the reader interested and involved.

The language is lovely, colorful, emotional, and magical in itself, especially these particular phrases: "a joyful fire twirling in the water" (about the goldfish), "the water was clear as glass. Minli could see her feet and all of the stones and leaves at the bottom of the stream," and "It was brilliant red, the color of a lucky lantern, with emerald green whiskers" (about the dragon). 

Numerous themes run throughout the book: good vs. evil, wealth/poverty and happiness, the pleasures of simplicity, thankfulness and appreciation for what we have, the influence of parents' wishes upon their children. Lin elegantly carries all of these themes, as well as others, through Minli's journey up to Never-Ending Mountain, where she herself learns the greatest lesson.

The only thing lacking from the audiobook is access to the lovely illustrations in the print book, which is all the more reason to seek it out for future enjoyment.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*Newbery Honor Book

*Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Interwoven with Minli's quest are tales told by her father and by those she meets on the way. While these tales are original to Lin, many characters, settings, and themes are taken from traditional Chinese folklore. The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning."

*Starred Review from BOOKLIST: "With beautiful language, Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land."

5. CONNECTIONS
Readers may also enjoy other audiobooks by Grace Lin, such as STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY, read by Kim Mai Guest, ISBN 9781619691469.

Children may also enjoy other tales from classic Chinese folklore, such as TALES OF A CHINESE GRANDMOTHER: 30 TRADITIONAL TALES FROM CHINA, ISBN 9780804834094.

The Fault in Our Stars - Book and Audiobook Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Green, John. 2012. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. New York, NY: Dutton Books, a Member of Penguin Group, Inc. ISBN 9780525478812.

AND

The unabridged Audiobook, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, by John Green, CD (7 discs, 2013), read by Kate Rudd, ISBN 9781455869916.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

According to Hazel Grace Lancaster, "depression is a side effect of dying." As a 16 year old terminal cancer patient, suffering from thyroid and lung cancer, she would know. Though she does not live a normal teenage life, Hazel experiences normal teenage moments, and even craves the ability to "slam the door" on her parents once in a while. Constantly tethering to one of her oxygen tanks, attending support group meetings, and waking up in the hospital; all are ordinary experiences for Hazel. One day, Augustus Waters strolls into support group, expressing an intense and obvious interest in Hazel, and so begins the true, aching, tragic reality of teenage love in a fleeting lifetime.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Audio book:

For the first half of this book, I listened to the audiobook. The listening experience was engaging at first, and mostly absorbing. As I continued, however, I found that the different voices used to highlight each character seemed a bit strange, a little forced, and almost hokey, a trait that removed me from the excitement of the book and was distracting to the story. The "men" in the book received a husky, not-quite-believable voice treatment, while Hazel's and her mother's voices were normal and more believable. 

The character of Hazel also seemed to take on a condescending, snarky, and ironic tone, which did not feel quite right either (even though she is a girl suffering from immense challenges at a young age), so I chose to change to the print book, where I could form the mental picture of all of the characters on my own. The emotional element of the text was also being influenced by the audiobook narrator, and I did not experience the equivalent of what I should be feeling by listening to someone else's interpretation of the action. I could allow myself to move at a faster, more natural pace through the print book. For this book, I preferred the book to the audiobook.

Print Book:

Once we meet most of the characters in this book, they have already weathered some extreme circumstances in their short lifetimes, either being children with cancer, or the parents of those children. The dialogue style is mostly fresh and authentic, with the exception of several cases of the author choosing to use "these" and "this," instead of "a" or "some" or "the," as in "these kids" instead of "some kids" or "this tunnel" instead of "a tunnel." While some teenagers probably speak this way, and it seems that this inclusion in the speech pattern was supposed to feel authentic from the mouth of a sixteen-year-old girl, it seems, at times, to be trying too hard. The story would not be lacking with a few less of "these."

The plot in THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is fabulous, taking the reader through the day-to-day experience of a teenager living in Indiana with terminal cancer. There are references to art and books, one book in particular that Hazel is obsessed with, a fictional book called AN IMPERIAL AFFLICTION, by Peter Van Houten, which is also a book about a girl with terminal cancer. With unexpected turns and surprises, the reader soars along with Hazel on her journey to experience a semi-normal teen life, including watching reruns of America's Next Top Model, comforting a friend going through a break-up, and going to the mall.

The ever-present theme of mortality/death is a constant, but as necessity compels, Augustus shows Hazel how to laugh in the face of imminent death; he carries an unlit cigarette in his mouth, explaining: "it's a metaphor... you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing" (since he never lights it). Hazel also battles with the choice of whether or not to become romantically involved, since she characterizes herself as a "grenade," a death bomb ready to go off and leave the other party hanging at any moment. Most people crave a loving relationship, especially teenagers experiencing it for the first time, but Hazel's medical hangups give her pause to consider the consequences of becoming involved.

Green's choice of language and use of descriptive language is excellent, especially such phrases as: Hazel's dad's "hiccuping cry," "a clunky gray Fiat with an engine that sounded like an excited four-year-old girl," and "It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you." There is great depth of thought throughout the dialogue, internal to Hazel, and external, from the other characters. One such recurring theme originated from Hazel's father: "Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed."

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*Starred review from BOOKLIST: "Writing about kids with cancer is an invitation to sentimentality and pathos- or worse, in unskilled hands, bathos. Happily, Green is able to transcend such pitfalls in his best and most ambitious novel to date. Beautifully conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations- life, love, and death- with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may also enjoy other angst-ridden books about teenagers who must weigh the consequences of romantic relationships, such as THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, by Stephen Chbosky, ISBN 9781451696196.

Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Krosoczka, Jarrett J. 2012. LUNCH LADY AND THE PICTURE DAY PERIL. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. ISBN 9780375870354

2. PLOT SUMMARY

A seemingly normal school picture day goes awry as Lunch Lady, Betty, and the Breakfast Bunch catch wind of an impostor in the school. The Breakfast Bunch is on to Stefani's wiles, especially when a large chunk of school activity money goes missing.The whole gang works together, in the name of teenage acne, to sort out the mystery of the sneaky Stefani and to bring the thief to justice.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The superhero "Lunch Lady" represents a population of under served professionals, indeed (pun intended). This hilarious graphic novel uses excellent wordplay and humor to spice up the most unlikely of superheroes... the school lunch lady. 

Along with her sidekick, Betty, Lunch Lady sniffs out the suspicious Stefani, the photographer for school picture day who seems a little too nice. Her compliments seem contrived as she butters up all of the students for their portraits: "Geek is so chic right now" and "You bring such a sparkle to this project" (to the girl with braces). 

Krosoczka's language is masterful and clever, with Lunch Lady and Betty spouting phrases like Batman and Robin: "Soggy cereal, what is going on?" Lunch Lady's superhero special "serving tools" add another humorous layer to the tale, especially her "Fancy Ketchup-Packet Laser," "Mustard Grappling Hook," and "Chicken Nugget Bomb," all useful in getting her out of a tight spot. The reader experiences plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as Lunch Lady comes to the rescue. The theme of good triumphing over evil plays a large role in this story, as well as the tendency of the underdog to beat the odds and win.

The illustrations are mostly tri-tones, in yellow, black, and white, with some color variations (lighter/darker hues, pale vs. bright, etc.). The artistic style includes dazzling pen and ink drawings with digital coloring. The cartoon-like characters each have their own definitive style, especially in their hair-dos (spiky for some, wavy and triangular for others). With a technique reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein, Krosoczka weaves the story together through excellent, expressive pictures and his own powerhouse styling.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review from KIRKUS: "A delightfully fun escapist read."

Review from BOOKLIST: "Krosoczka's inventive visual details, spot-on characterizations, and grade-school humor make this a standout graphic-novel series." 

5. CONNECTIONS

*See other books in the LUNCH LADY series, also by Jarrett Krosoczka.

*For other schoolhouse humor, see also SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL by Louis Sachar and Julie Brinkloe, ISBN 9780380731480.

The Green Glass Sea - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Klages, Ellen. 2006. THE GREEN GLASS SEA. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 0670061344

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Dewey Kerrigan is a little different from other eleven year old girls. She reads books like THE BOY MECHANIC because "they didn't make one for girls." Her father is a bigwig in with the government in 1944, which means Dewey has plenty of time for building her gadgets and gizmos out of little mechanical scraps. Her math skills are several grades ahead, which explains why she likes rules and things to proceed as expected. Except there are no good reasons to explain why bad things happen to good people, including young Dewey. 

Her mother left when she was a baby, she has a hard time making friends with girls, her relationship with her father is precious but limited, and there are secrets beyond her control, and even her imagining, that threaten Dewey's entire sense of well being. As Dewey becomes close with a classmate, Suze, and her family, the creativity flows and Dewey has a chance to create something unlike anything she's ever made before. But the war looms heavy overhead, and Dewey worries that she will be left, yet again, without a place that feels like home.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Ellen Klages gives the reader a clear picture of life on "The Hill" in Los Alamos, 1944. Her writing includes visceral sounds and smells, like the "chukka-chukka-chukka" sound of the train, and Suze's father's pipe smoke scent: "smelling like sweetish-sour burning leaves. The Daddy smell." The reader feels immersed in this strange, sparse, truly militaristic scene, with stopgap housing and "army-green everything." 

The language portrays the ultimate seclusion and secretiveness of everything occurring on The Hill. Even professions are disguised: physicists are "fizzlers," chemists are "stinkers," and "the computers are women who ran big adding machines." The women on the hill rarely wore makeup and the common tongue of the setting is math, science, and Greek, literally. Klages gives a great sense of atmosphere: the genius, academic minds wander around everywhere, working at all hours, speaking always in code, with excitement. 

The theme of growing up motherless weighs heavily on Dewey. Perhaps because of her father's frequent leaves of absence to go away and work, Dewey thrives on rules and certainty. Her analytical, organizational mind is countered perfectly by her friend Suze's risk-taking, artistically creative mind. 

Klages alludes to the relationship of math to music through the wisdom of Dewey's father: "music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting (Leibniz)." Klages also expresses the idea of math as its own language through Suze's father's eyes: "math is the language we use to describe patterns." Several scientists on the hill are fluent in Greek letters, prompting a curiosity in Suze to learn more about the mystical symbols and their ultimate power.

The author provides many heartwarming moments, frequently supplemented by warm, comforting beverages in thermoses: ovaltine, hot tea with milk and honey, cocoa. The palpable scent of cigarette smoke is ever-present, even in the children's bedrooms, increasing the authentic feel of the work. Klages adds depth to the sparse scenery by allowing the characters to engage in emotional exchanges, and raises the difficult question of what it would be like to be present during the creation of the mysterious "gadget," which we learn is the first atomic bomb.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
*SCOTT O'DELL AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION

Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Clear prose brings readers right into the unusual atmosphere of the secretive scientific community, seen through the eyes of the kids and their families."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may enjoy other books written about this time period, such as HIROSHIMA, A NOVELLA, by Laurence Yep, ISBN 9780590208338.

*See also the Newbery Honor Book BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD- AND STEAL -THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin, ISBN 9781596434875.