A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

A classic science fantasy novel about Meg, a young girl who goes on an adventure to solve the mystery of her father's sudden disappearance.  He vanishes while working on a government project called a tesseract.  She travels with her little brother Charles,  and a friend from school named Calvin.  They also meet three old ladies who help them on their journey - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.

Eventually they travel to Camazotz where they find Meg's father trapped in a society which is controlled by a single mind that doesn't allow anyone to think for themselves.  To rescue their father, the children must fight against the powerful controlling mind and discover the one that cannot be controlled - love.

This is a lovely story about a family that is a little different than most (both parents are scientists and Charles is a super-genius) but who love and take care of each other.  It incorporates simple ideas of science and dimension easily, allowing even young children to understand the concept of a "wrinkle in time."  It has a little touch of romance, and fun realistic characters who are far from perfect and make decisions based on pride, flattery, and jealousy.  But ultimately it is a wonderful story of how good virtues can overrule the bad. 

This book has two others that follow it, A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, but I found that I did not enjoy them nearly as much as this first book.  It has been some time since I read them, but it is not usually a good sign when I cannot remember a thing about them.  This book however is one that you will remember for a long time, and enjoy reading again and again.

Unbroken

by Laura Hillenbrand

I cannot wait a minute longer to write about the book I just finished.  I had not planned to finish it so quickly, as there were a number of other activities going on this weekend, but I could not stop.  

Unbroken is an astounding story about Louie Zamperini who starts out life as a wild kid but ends up channeling all that pent up energy into running.  He becomes a world-class athlete and even runs in the Olympics.  But everything changes when he's drafted into WWII.  What then follows is a harrowing story of a crash-landing in the ocean and a miraculous story of survival.

One feels like this part of the story alone would be enough for one amazing story, but it continues as Louie is then taken as a POW and put through horrific experiences.  It would not do the man or the book any justice to try to even describe what happens to him, but suffice it to say it will stay with you, both in the horror and in the wonderful depths of human spirit shown.

And then at the end, it becomes a miraculous story about a man who loses his life and then finds it again and ends up being able to do what, to most of us, would seem almost incomprehensible in such circumstances.  He forgives.

As many of my friends and family know, I am pretty squeamish when it comes to things such as violence and torture (which I don't find to be a problem - perhaps more people should be less tolerant of it).  This book is definitely a hard read through some passages, but I will say that although I was horrified at the things done to the POWs, the book was written in such a way that told the truth but made it readable for me, without feeling that it would give me nightmares for weeks.  I guess I feel that the book pulls your through all those things by the sheer unbroken spirit of the main character.

I also very much appreciated the details put into the end of the book, especially in discussing the troubles that POWs and military men faced when returning from the war.  Both my grandfathers served, one in WWII and one in Korea.  One was injured by a grenade and sent home.  He still has nightmares, flashbacks, still flinches at the sound of loud explosions, cannot watch fireworks, and kicks and attacks imaginary foes in his dreams.  He is now in his 80s, but even this many years later, the things he survived haunt him.  And that was just as a soldier, not even as a POW.  I knew about some of his experiences and appreciated his great sacrifice, but I know I'll never be able to truly understand how it changed him.

However, something about this book helped me more fully realize the reality that many of these men faced and are still facing.  I thought of some of those old vets who perhaps I've seen begging or homeless and I feel a great love for them.  I am ashamed that perhaps I have judged some of these people in the past without knowing the things that they may have gone through and survived, so that I can have the freedom and comforts I so often take for granted.  I now have a brother and brother-in-law in the military and am so grateful for those who are so willing to serve, because it is not small thing.

Finally, I say again that for all the sadness contained within this story, it still gave me an ever-pervading feeling of hope throughout even the darkest moments of the narrative.  It is a great gift for an author to be able to convey that feeling in a book.  It is an even more priceless gift for a person to have this in their life, as Louie did.  I have felt it an honor to have spent the last few days in such amazing company.

Art & Max

by David Wiesner 

A very clever children's book with some lovely illustrations, this book is recommended for parents and kids alike, but particularly to anyone interested in art.

Art and Max are two lizards who decide to do a little painting in the desert one day.  But things get a little out of hand when Max gets a little overzealous with the paintbrush and creates a bit of a catastrophe.  The book takes off at this point with brilliant illustrations that include paint, watercolor and line drawings, and which all incorporate into the actual plot of the story seamlessly.  I love a good book that is cleverly written but still tells a good story without drawing attention away from the characters. 

Wiesner is a three-time Caldecott medalist, so the beautiful illustrations and focus on art concepts is not a huge surprise, and it makes for a lovely, fun and funny story that both you and your children will love to read and discover together.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

One woman's death changed the history of medicine forever.  Her name was Henrietta Lacks, and she didn't even know what she was a part of because they didn't tell her.  This book tells the amazing story of an African-American woman whose cancer cells were taken from her without her knowledge or permission.  And it was not for many, many years that even her descendants were told the whole story. 

I read this book for a book club and thoroughly enjoyed it.  As one fellow reader said, "It's the kind of book that makes you feel smart."  The description of scientific things is well written and makes it an easy read, especially as there are so many lively, interesting, and crazy characters involved.  One can tell that the author put a lot of work into researching the story fully and telling it with as much honesty as possible, considering that much of the story was covered up for many years, sometimes just by bad judgment, and sometimes by outright lies. 

The really amazing story within the books is about Lacks' descendants, specifically her daughter and the journey that she goes on to discover the truth about her mother's cells.  Mixed in with all this are issues of race, religion, poverty, health care, and the questions of what happens to body and spirit when death occurs.  No matter what your belief, the book makes clear that Henrietta Lacks truly did become immortal and has effected nearly every person living on the planet right now.  We can't change the disturbing events of the past, but by reading this book we can, in a small way, do justice to Henrietta and honor her for the part she plays in many of our lives today.

Summer of the Monkeys

by Wilson Rawls

In honor of Father's Day coming up this weekend, I thought I'd write a review of a long-time favorite, The Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls.  You may recognize the author's name from his other well-loved work, Where the Red Fern Grows.  Both are set in areas of the Ozark Mountains and are about boys who love adventure, fun and animals.  Both stories tell about a boy's coming of age, learning that the world is bigger than just them, and learning to love and give beyond themselves.

Summer of the Monkey is about Jay Berry Lee and his grandfather who love to have adventure and a little mischief as well.  They hear about award money being given to anyone who can catch a troupe of monkeys that have escaped from a traveling circus.  Thus follows a number of attempts at catching the wily and irascible monkeys.  By the end, Jay Berry learns a lot about the monkeys, his grandfather, and himself.  And a lot of funny events come along the way.

Now, you may be wondering what all this has to do with Father's Day.  Books remind me of both my parents because they both love to read.  My mother reads voraciously, quickly and with dedicated intensity.  My father is more casual but prolific and wide-ranging in subject matter.  He will randomly pick up almost any book that someone else is reading and just start wherever they have left off, in the meantime often forgetting to mark their spot.  Sometimes he takes the book home with him, leaving the owner to wonder what happens next, sometimes for a week or two on end.  When we were younger, Mom read books aloud every night (Summer of the Monkeys was one I remember) and dad would usually lay down on the couch or floor and listen with his eyes closed.  Sometimes we made the mistake of thinking he'd fallen asleep and try to get near enough to tickle him or steal his glasses.  He would let us get close and then quickly snap his teeth at the outstretched fingers and grin.

I must say that as he ages, there are more and more times when he really does end up falling asleep.  But that is for another commentary.

This particular book reminds me of my own father in a few specific ways.  First, he's a bit of a redneck and I think would love nothing more than run around in torn up overalls with a big dog and chase 'coons.  Instead he works at a desk, fixes a never-ending line of broken-down cars, and puts up with a passel of noisy grand kids.  Second, he's a lot like the grandfather in this book who thinks its a great adventure to try and catch a bunch of monkeys with some pretty harebrained schemes and contraptions to do so.  The family joke is that dad truly believes he can fix or make anything with PVC, duct tape and gray glue.  Third, for all his redneck, crazy side, my father has a tender heart, much like the men in this book.  They put a tough front up sometimes, but they love their families and it shows.  That's my dad. 

But the main reason this book reminds me of my father is that at the end of the book, Jay Berry makes a hard decision that shows just how much he has grown up, a decision that involves a lot of generosity.  If you've read it, you'll know why this particular event touches my heart so much.  My father is one of the most generous people I know, always sacrificing what he wants to try and make everyone around him happy, and I have been one of his most prolific recipients. I am grateful for his ever-vigilant love and sustaining support. And if you still don't understand why this is all brought to my mind at Father's Day, then read this entry from my personal blog and you will get a small glimpse of the amazing father I am blessed to have.

Thanks Dad.

p.s. My personal blog is private so if you are a friend and interested in reading, send me your e-mail address and I will send you an invite.

Moon Over Manifest

by Clare Vanderpool

I'm currently without a book, waiting for some on order at the library and chomping at the bit to have them arrive.  So in the meantime, I figured if I can't read a book at least I can write about a book.  My latest enjoyable read is a Newbery Medal winner, most of which are usually a safe bet for a good book.  This one is about a young girl named Abilene who is used to leading a somewhat transient life with her father.  But one summer he decides to work a railroad job and sends her to live in Manifest, Kansas, a small town that was once his home.  Abilene discovers many interesting characters in the town, all of them connected in some way to her father's mysterious past.  Some old letters and newspapers leads the entire town down forgotten roads to where old secrets are revealed and remembered.  Secrets about an old mining town, about sons gone off to war, and about moonshine during the prohibition. 

Vanderpool sets the place of this book well.  The town of Manifest is memorable and interesting, and feels authentic to the time.  She gives you just enough mystery to keep the pages turning, and one big twist at the end is completely unexpected.  I also enjoy the technique of writing a story within a story.  The author helps transition between the past and present by placing old newspaper articles within the story that connect bits and pieces and also gives you clues as you go along.  The voices of each character are distinct.  Perhaps this is all because the story is loosely based on an actual Kansas town and on historical documents, not to mention stories passed down through the author's family.  This story feels like it could be one my Grandpa told me around the campfire at a family reunion.

The Iceberg Hermit

by Arthur Roth

I love me a good survival story.  Especially when its based on a true story.  The Iceberg Hermit by Arthur Roth is just such a story, although it is based solely on the account of Allan Gordon himself, a story that many of his friends and neighbors discounted as fiction at the time.  But it makes for an awfully good story, no matter whether you believe it true or not.  Its hard for me to imagine making this kind of thing up.  The author discusses some of these issues in the last chapter of the book, putting up theories as to how Gordon's account could have been true or not. 

Allan Gordon is a young man who is working on a whaling ship in the year 1757 when it hits an iceberg and Gordon is left the sole survivor, stuck on an iceberg with polar bears.  Part of the ship is lodged on the iceberg, which is part of the reason he survives.  He eventually finds a way to leave the iceberg and meets a group of people who he believes are a tribe of Norse Greenlanders.  After seven years away, he finally returns home, only to find how much he has changed, as well as those he loves.

As Roth says in the last chapter, "What is important is that we want to believe that the story is true.  We want to believe that man is capable of overcoming the dangers Allan overcame."  That's why I read, because each good book makes me want to believe that I can be the hero, that I can overcome.