Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

Author: Lynne Jonell
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th grade

Pages: 352
Publisher: Henry Holt
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

It's impressive how Jonell manages to inform the readers of all characters' personalities, feelings, and actions without ever straying away from Emmy's perspective: readers only know what she sees, hears, and thinks. The outlandish circumstances with all the super(magical?)-powers of the rodents are accompanied by a gentle tale of friendship, longing for parental love, and the essence of stable families. I mentally applauded the several jabs at the absurdity of the over-scheduling of our children.

The illustration with the flip-book margin of Rat falling and Emmy catching him ceases being a gimmick when it visually sums up the spirit of the story: "Don't worry. We're friends. I will catch you if you fall."

Hitler's Canary

Author: Sandi Toksvis
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th - 7th

Pages: 191
Publisher: Roaring Brook (originally Randomhouse, UK, 2005)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

What a feat... a tender, courageous, and often wryly humorous tale about the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Denmark. (Even if it's just a small corner of the world the Nazi's had a hold on.) Because of the courage and ingenuity and the strong belief in human equality of the Danish people, most of the 8000+ Jews were sheltered, transported to safety, and survived. This story from pre-and-early-teen Basme's (Teddy Bear) view point should be introduced to as many young readers as we can! It does not have extremely gruesome depictions that will upset young readers who have yet to know this part of our history, but it has plenty of nerve-wrecking moments and conflicts to hold one's attention and interest. There is great sacrifice and a few upsetting events (at least two quite irrevocable sufferings) toward the end of the tale, justifiably depicted. I cried, laughed, and gasped with terror, during the great theatrical scene that Mama staged to save their neighbors. Knowing that the story is inspired by family histories and relatives of the author I bought the story even more.

Grumpy Bird

Author:Jeremy Tankard (illustrator)
Rating:
Reading Level: Pre-k to 2nd

Pages:
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

I LOVE the grumpiness of Bird and his host of 4-legged friends who totally are so clueless to his mood. The Wahaha-WOW ending is so unexpected and satisfying. There is a great momentum building through this seemingly simplistic picture book. Tankard's thick-black-outlined endearing group of animals and brush-painting trees, accompanied by bleached photo background is dexterously done. There is just so much to look at and such a joy to read aloud and to share!

Leepike Ridge

Author: N.D. Wilson
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 7th

Pages: 224
Publisher: Random House
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

A great survival story, a thrilling adventure, an intriguing mystery, and a tall tale. It reminds me of Paulsen's survival stories but seems to have even more layers and with incredibly enjoyable wry humor: "It was a face deciding what to say and how to say it, and the truth didn't look as if it was a factor in the decision making."

"The bottom of the trash bag was full of boiled crawdad dead. Those remaining in the pool wandered about, confused by the sudden spaciousness."

"Jeffrey was dragged out by his shoulders and then propped up with his back against the couch. The bag was still blood-glued to the back of his head and stood out around it like a white plastic halo."

Yup, a few gruesome scenes: for example: dealing with and collecting useful things from a dead body. I loved those scenes.

Atherton: The House of Power

Author: Patrick Carman
Rating:
Reading Level:

Pages: 330
Publisher: Little, Brown
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

This grabbed me and wouldn't let me go the entire time! Instantly, I was intrigued by the Frankeinstein quote and the strange conversation between the two disembodied voices. Edgar's tale then unfolds with lots of fast paced action and suspenseful plot twists, a cast of well-delineated major and minor characters, and wonderful illustrations (I'd like just a few more... um... maybe a dozen more, of Squire Broel's pencil drawings, actually!) I know that there is quite a bit of environmental message attached and all the science might not be accurately scientific and border on magical elements, but I bought it all: the world, the characters, the events, and wasn't even that distraught to find no ending to this particular portion of the tale.

I was reluctant to start reading the book, since there is a half-wrap dust jacket and a Bonus CD-ROM -- gimmicks that made me skeptical: the book must not be that great if they need to include special cover design and extra materials to draw readers! Glad that I did read it, really glad!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th and up

Pages:
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

I got the book shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, July 21..., at "The Harry Potter Place" party hosted by Scholastic. Spent 2 hours reading it (1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.) -- thought, "Now, this is quite good. I'm not annoyed by redundant adjectives or adverbs or repetitive verbs... And I'm really sucked back into this world again. How wonderful this feels!" Then, most of the day and evening of July 21 was spent reading/dozing off/reading/dozing off on the comfy chair in the living room. Dozing off, not because the story wasn't exciting but simply due to exhaustion. So, these early chapter and adventure took on a dreamy quality -- I wonder if it's the text or just because I was dreaming ... and Harry was doing a lot of dreaming and seeing through another's eye. His was nightmares, mine was a reader's trance. Being a slow reader, I couldn't finish it on Saturday. And I dared not get online to visit any book places, in fear of knowing what comes next. Not that it would have spoiled my experience... but, in a book full of deliberately hidden clues and mysteries, it was more fun to not know anything and slowly discover the "truth." Sunday saw me busy entertaining house guests and stealing moments to dip back into the tale. By bedtime, I was so deep into the world and so engrossed with the plot threads that I knew today (Monday) couldn't be spent in any other way but finishing it.

And finishing it I did, with much shedding of tears, much satisfaction with certain of my "predictions" came true, delighted in the reappearance of certain characters and elements from previous books, and inevitably slightly annoyed by a couple of threads and characters left underdeveloped. But, over all... it was a truly satisfying conclusion to a long journey. The many many pages in this case are not wasteful or draggy, but fitting for the exhausting and arduous journey that Harry and the Gang undertook. I'm just, really, pleased.

The Game

Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th to 7th

Pages: 192
Publisher: Firebird (Penguin Putnam)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

I find this short fantasy highly entertaining and extremely delightful. Diana Wynne Jones has such a strong sense of language to convey humor, mystery, the fantastic world and its richly drawn characters. For example, when Haley first met Tollie, and was taunted by him, her thoughts were, to “pull pieces off him -- ears, nose, fingers... so long as they came away with lots of blood--" (p. 4, p.5) This extreme thought both illustrates Haley's feisty personality and also establishes the tone of the story early on. That it is going to be full of strong emotions and funny bits. And throughout the book, this tone is consistent.

There are vivid scenes that have stayed with me for months: the raw pork chop stuck in the drain, Flute and Fiddle standing by the street corners walking through walls, performing magic, Aunt Aster being carried in Orion's arms racing down the street, the various beautiful and dangerous strands and encounters in the Mythosphere. I am impressed by the author's ability to weave a very rich story within a slim volume.

Many other light observations that are both humorous and acute such as this, “Nodding and smiling turned out to be a habit with Marthya. She used it instead of understanding English. She used it particularly when Grandma told her to clean the silver or sweep the stairs.” (p. 31)

I also really enjoyed how the readers are as puzzled, confused, and baffled as Haley at the beginning of the story, and, how, there are clues that the readers start to piece together to get the whole picture, while Haley still is unaware of the situation... but eventually, there is enough of a surprise toward the end that it won't bore the readers who have somewhat figured out these characters. Jones' ability to weave tales together ambiguously and then slowly revealing the inter-dependent details is once again so masterfully done. Each character is drawn so vividly and every danger is breath taking. What a treat!

Duck at the Door

Author: Jackie Urbanovic (also the illustrator)
Rating:
Reading Level: pre-k to 2nd

Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

This is an absolute WINNER! The text is sparing and just right to convey the situations from page to page -- I enjoyed the individual thoughts from the animals mixed in with the straightforward text.

Each animal in the house is distinctly designed and incredibly adorable/attractive/expressive. Their body language speaks volumes!

The surprising second-to-last spread made me *GASP* with horrified delight.

This whole package just WORKS!

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County

Author: Janice Harrington
Illustrator: Shelley Jackson
Rating:
Reading Level: Pre-K - 3rd

Publisher: FSG
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

I would have to say that this is one of the most joyful picture books I've read this year. I adore everything about it. It's incredibly fun to read the text out loud and to hear it read. It is colorful and energetic, full of poetic inventions:

"wash away the dreaming and brush my teeth whiter than a biscuit"
"fast as a mosquito buzzing and quick as a fleabite"
and listen to the cadence and joy of these glorious lines:
"I think of all kinds of chicken thoughts so they won't know I'm up to something.
Corn, I think, bright, shiny knuckles of yellow corn.
Eggs! Eggs! Eggs! Goldy-brown eggs all warm, warm warm.
Corn bread, corn bread! Crumb and crumble bread.
Worms, Slurms, swishy, swishy-mishy, ickly-tickly worms"

Oh... I'm having so much fun just looking at these words and lines.

And then, of course, there are these glorious illustrations -- where the energy, the colorfulness, and sunshiny fun is captured and further expanded. The mixed media with real object collage illustrations convey the carefree high spirit of our heroine. The most effective compositions are the ones that explode outward:

The page with Pah-Quawkkkkk! and Quawkkkkkk exploding in the center of the spread.

And there are pages more subdued but no less pleasing. There is a great pacing of action verses internal thoughtfulness both in the text, and especially in the illustrations. This is just GLORIOUS! I said it a third time now :)

Why the long silence

I've been reading... and writing, and thinking about what I've been reading. But, I have been jotting down notes on a private database since I am on the 2008 Notable Children's Books Committee and must read quicker and write more notes about them -- so I have not had time to craft more coherent reading journal entries. But, they will be coming soon. I have quite a bit to say about quite a few books published in 2007!

A Scanner Darkly

Author: Philip Dick
Rating:
Reading Level: Adult

Publisher: Random House Audio
Edition: Text: 1977; Audio Book, read by Paul Giamatti, 2006

Loved the enigmatic plot line and shared the despair of the main characters in such bleak circumstances. Giamatti's more than competent rendition of the text added to the appeal. I usually only listen to audio books when washing dishes or doing chores, but this one I had to listen on my iPod in bed and on the bus... couldn't stop, especially during the latter half of the story. There are also many moments of absurdity that are both laughable and pitifully so. Really glad that I got to know this story -- and now am wondering, "How on EARTH could they make this fairly introspective novel into a movie?" But, then, Blade Runner (based on Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) was made and successfully so, although it is true that the book and the movie are quite different, both powerful in their own ways.

It was nice to finally understand the meaning of the title, too!

Secret History of Tom Trueheart

Author: Ian Beck
Reading Level: 4th-6th

Publisher: Greenwillow (HarperCollins)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

Very little works for me in this fairy-tale inspired fantasy. The logic seems largely faulty (such as the limited view on fairy-tale world and that only these 7 brothers - all named Jack - can take on these "quest" assignments.) The "message" is so blatant that the tale holds little depth. It simply did not work for me.

The Last Girls of Pompeii

Author: Kathryn Lasky
Reading Level: 5th-7th

Publisher: Viking
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

The imagined story of a group of nobles, slaves, and gladiators during the days leading to the eruption of Vesuvius is a great topic. I enjoyed the historical details but at the same time found that at certain points, the "history lesson" overshadows the momentum of the plotline and thus slows down the pacing of an otherwise very exciting tale.

Magpie Gabbard and the Quest for the Buried Moon

Author: Sally M. Keehn
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Publisher: Philomel
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

It is definitely Quirky, with that capital Q! The tall-tale tone and the magical and outlandish plotline are consistent and coherent in their own way. Very strong opening scene and concluding passages.

Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist

Author: Liz Kessler
Reading Level: 3rd - 5th

Publisher: Candlewick
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The third installment of the Emily Windsnap series. I didn't read the first two but would not consider seeking them out and reading them after scanning quickly (not quite worth my time or energy to read carefully) this book. I wonder if mer-people were real, would they be displeased at the general portrayal of their characteristics?

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

Author: Lauren Tarshis
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Pages:
Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The tone, matter-of-fact, aloof, observatory, self-aware, emotionally detailed -- is very interesting -- at least at the beginning. It becomes a little boring after a while. The chapters from Colleen's viewpoint are told pretty much in this same tone, which does not quite fit her timid personality. Even though the story is seen through Emma-Jean's eyes and thus are all exaggerated (slightly or largely,) certain events (such as the Queen Been losing her hold on the 7th-grade populace) still need the real-life logic to convince this reader.

Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings

Author: Stephen Mitchell
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd - 4th

Pages:
Publisher: Walker
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

The retelling is skillfully done -- although I do not see how "new" and "fresh" these versions are from the older version. To gain insight, I must see some of other retellings. There are only three stories and two of them are so familiar so I wasn't getting excited about them. The second, unfamiliar story, however, is definitely interesting and worth reading.

Captives

Author: Tom Pow
Rating:
Reading Level: 7th and up

Pages:
Publisher: Roaring Brooks
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)

I really appreciate the layered perspectives from all parties and the courage Tom Pow exibits as an author to not put forth a more popular view point in condamning the captors. The setting is brought to life vividly and each character and their back story convincingly portrayed.

The switch from Part I to Part II is a little too fast and it took some adjusting to change gear and expectations. To have the second part as an unpolished manuscript that Martin scribbled in one night seems a bit far-fetched, though.

The New Policeman

Author: Kate Thompson
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th-8th

Pages: 442
Publisher: Greenwillow
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

Hallucinating. Mesmerizing. Tantallizing. Extraordinary.
(Charming, seductive and completely enthralling - as described by Eoin Colfer, which is apt, as well.)

I especially adore the fact that, instead of leaving the identity of The New Policeman subtly hinted and hidden for readers to puzzle over (although it got more and more obvious as the book goes -- perfectly executed, those little hints throughout), there is a resounding confirmation. It makes this a most satisfyig children's book: the readers are not left with a malencholy that hangs over our head -- which it can EASILY go.

The short chapters match so well with the missing Time. As an Irish music fan, I can't help but humming all the tunes after each chapter. How cleverly done those are -- and Thompson even composed a couple herself.

This is a deserving award winner (of both the 2005 Guardian and Whitbread Awards) and should be relentlessly promoted to all worthy young readers!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th-6th

Pages: 533
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007

The superb and impeccable design gives me such pleasure that I feel like hugging this big fact block of a book every time I see it! Selznick's cinamatic illustrations that take up most of the 533 pages, blend seamlessly with the crisp text and enigmatic storyline.

I like how Hugo's plans do not always pan out the same ways he imagined -- often they go wrong, but in a very realistic way. The adults intervene just the right amount so the situation never becomes hopeless without reducing the excitement generated by Hugo's desparation and urgency. Of course, there are a lot of coincidences, following the Dickensian storytelling tradition.

A most wonderful offer!

Mismatch

Author: Lensey Namioka
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th-8th grade

Pages: 217
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I agree with almost every notion Namioka presents in this book: that no singular experience (no matter one's race or heritage) is truly shared by all and that one has to discover and rediscover one's heritage and relationship with that heritage over and over again: a life long endeavor.

However, these "messages" are so heavy that I felt as if being sat on by a giant troll and had the air squeezed out of my lungs the entire time while reading this book. This is not an organic story, growing out of the young couple's (Japanese and Chinese American teens) love for each other, but a plastic plant with the author's hands manipulating the shapes of the branches and the color of the flowers and all the folds of the leaves. It seems such a shame that a potentially profound story can become so superficial and the "solutions" of the cultural and racial conflicts are unconvincingly simplistic. I cannot bring myself to believe that the grandmother (who is about my own mother's age, with similar experience as a Chinese young girl in Japanese occupied China) would have accepted the Japanese family within a week of her discovery of this dating business. How can someone's life-long bias against an entire orther race be altered overnight? Anyone who does not have this specific "Asian" experience should still know that racial biases do not get resolved like this. This story's all happy endings render all the messages too lightweighted to matter at all.

The Last Dragon

Author: Silvana De Mari; translated by Shaun Whiteside
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Pages: 361
Publisher: Miramax/Disney
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I have not that much good to say about this book. It annoys me to read the compulsive "listing of stuff" (yes, I realized that it was intended to represent how the Elf and the Dragon would think and organize their inner worlds) page after page: what kind of books there are in the library (many kinds and you're sure to be told a FULL page of the various subjects or how readers should think of anyone or any event (it's never just one descriptor, almost as if the author cannot make up her mind how to describe a character or an emotion, but a "list" of adjectives. I cannot imagine that it is the device of the translator, but a slight possibility remains.

If I hadn't had to read it for a group discussion -- I would have probably dropped the book midstream. Only one out of a few professional review sources agrees with me that this is a very message-heavy tale dressed in a fake fantasy clothing, and the humor is often crude and unfitting for the tragic tone of the underlying tale. Look for the VOYA review on this B&N page.

Weedflower

Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th Grade

Pages: 260
Publisher: Atheneum (S&S)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

Kadohata's strength lies in her quiet tone and close-up examination of the main characters' thoughts and feelings. Weedflower is a perfect example. The readers are intimately familiar with every strand of emotion in Sumiko's life but the full picture of the time in history is a bit foggy. The fate and experiences of Sumiko's uncle and grandfather (in the prison camp) is also sketchy at the best. This is in keeping with Sumiko's young girl perspective. There is no telling if Kadohata had opted to force other pieces of the historical puzzle into the telling, the result would have been a more diluted or intensified tale.

My personal issue with this book is my indifference to Sumiko. I don't find her particularly inspiring or even likable. Her status as a social outcast seems more self-imposed than forced upon by others and her small triumphs did not stir much admiration in me. I felt impatience and displeasure, rather than empathy, for her. Maybe because she seems way too self-absorbed - which, once again, shows the author's skill at portraying a realistic person without false glorification. But, I need that glorification. I need to see that she opens her eyes and understands more about what is affecting her people, and not just how miserable her own life is or what's going in within her immediate environment.

Report from the field: Several people (of Japanese and general Asian descent are troubled by the cover. Their first reaction has been consistent: "No one at a Japanese-American Internment Camp would have worn a kimono! That is entirely inaccurate!" And besides, Sumiko never once wore a kimono throughout the entire story.

Lily Reads: Funny Frank

Author: Dick King Smith
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st and 2nd

fairrosa: So, how would you describe this book?
Lily: I would describe this book as funny, sarcastic, and cute.
fairrosa: Anything else you'd like to share?
Lily: Yep. I liked it because it was full of ideas that were cool.

Lily Reads: Betsy-Tacy

Author: Maud Hart Lovelace
Rating:
Reading Level: 2nd to 4th Grade

fairrosa: So.. you gave this book 5 stars. Is it that great?
Lily: Yes. Because I felt that it made you very emotional and so you had a connection with the book.

Lily Reads: All-of-a-Kind Family and More All-of-a-Kind Family

Author: Sidney Taylor
Rating:
Reading Level: 1st to 3rd

fairrosa: Why do you like All-of-a-Kind Family?
Lily: I liked this book because it's about five girls and they have adventures and it's very exciting.
fairrosa: Do you have something to say about the second book?
Lily: Yes. It has a lot of tension.
fairrosa: How? What happened?
Lily: There was a disease going around and they didn't want to catch it.

Stranger in A Strange Land

Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Rating:
Reading Level: Adult

Pages: 438
Publisher: Ace Books, Penguin Putnam (G.P. Putnam's Sons, original)
Edition: 1987 (1961)

I found this "most famous science fiction ever written" quite a disappointing read: the style is stale; the tone is preachy, the world view and solution of the human condition is simplistic, and the "science" is shaky at its best, although it was a ground-breaking work of its time.

Just because this story features a "Man from Mars" does not excuse its lack of scientific explanation of the telepathic power and the super-human abilities of Michael and eventually those humans that he has taught. And since there is so much talking and telling, emotionally I was never invested or drawn into the characters and their experiences. This is also such a product of its time - a reactionary social commentary against the puritanical social norms of the 50s America. Although I am not sure that many comments do not apply today, the tale as a whole feels very outdated.

Although Heinlein allows his male characters and the narrative voice to sometimes praise the female characters in their resourcefulness and their intelligence, a slight hint of male-dominance and superiority courses under the surface throughout the story: the fact that the true heroes of the story are Michael and Jubal and although the women are given important roles, they are never truly in the decision-making positions speaks volumes. And I am unsure why all the mothers show constant scorn against their own children when the "message" is for them to all love each other equally and without bias. To reduce the human condition and complexity to one singular solution, disregarding the forces of artistic (music, literature, art, etc.) or other human achievements and needs seems so narrow-minded to make me unhappy! (Jubal couldn't find a single book to read in the NEST... my goodness!)

I did enjoy Jubal Harshaw's brazen honesty and fearless loyalty.

Samurai Shortstop

Author: Alan Gratz
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th - 8th

Pages: 280
Publisher: Dial (Penguin Putnam)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

Every scene is necessary in this tightly written and thoroughly researched historical novel. The events unfold as the momentum gains and as Toyo's self-understanding grows - subtly but with such forces that I could not put the book down. The opening scene of detailed Seppuku (suicide by cutting open one's own stomach) ritual and some of the High School hazing methods are definitely not for the faint of heart. Yet this is not a book about violence, but about honor, loyalty, teamwork, inner strength, and physical strength, as well. All the necessary components of a successful baseball team.

To link the spirit of Bushido (Way of the Warriors) and baseball presents such a fresh look on the American's National Pasttime that will inspire many young readers to think about the sport they love more deeply and meaningfully. This is an amazing and perfect book!

Note on Cultural Inaccuracies: My suspicion was confirmed by a Japanese friend that since Gratz is not Japanese, nor is he an expert in the Japanese language, some cultural inaccuracies occur in the book. The most glaring problem for me is the use of first names of anyone elder. It simply is not done -- not then, and not even now in the 21st century. A son will never call his own father by the first name - no matter HOW much he detest his own father. When calling an upper classman, one will always use honorifics: -san and -sempai attached to either the first or last names; and when the younger students are addressed, the older ones might use -kun. These can be easily researched -- even a simple google search or any entry level Japanese language text book can reveal the correct usage of these honorifics. Since it IS still an integral part of the Japanese culture, the ignoring of such practice shows a certain mentality from the author and the publisher. What a shame!

Titan's Curse

Author: Rick Riordan
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th - 6th

Pages:
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover Galley, 2007

Reading the 3rd installment in the Percy Jackson series is now like drinking a can of regular soda - there is the sugar rush and the addiction! It's fun, it's full of fast paced actions, it's familiar, and it does leave you wanting more - especially with Percy having a new enemy and Luke might not be all that he seems! Although it will not be considered exactly the healthiest choice by "reading dieticians" (this term here refers to the literary purists who think reading only exists to improve one's literary taste and heighten one's intelligence or humanity).

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City

Author: Kirsten Miller
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th-7th

Pages: 250
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

The concept is so intriguing: a shadow city 70 feet underground of Manhattan, with entrances from a cemetery, a bank vault, a Chinatown counterfeit factory, etc., and a group of super-girls who each possesses a singular special talent: a master disguiser, an expert researcher, a mad chemist, a skilled mechanics, a talented forger, and Kiki Striker, the enigmatic mastermind. Their goal to save New York City is lofty and Kiki Strike's hidden agenda is not as sinister as one is led to believe. And, yet, and yet... I could not thoroughly enjoy this book. Actually, I felt a bad taste at the back of my throat throughout the reading of this otherwise ingenious novel.

Kiki Strike made me realize that I partially read for characters. I enjoy a good, intriguing plot with lots of twists and surprises the next eager reader. However, all the clever plot twists, the inventiveness, and the suspenseful mood could not make me forget, or forgive, the cattiness of each of the members of the Bank Street Irregulars (as the six-girl squad is so named.) Their relentless sarcasm and taunts toward each other, even when done in good humor, have the underlining nastiness that cannot be wiped clean from my mind; the author also opted to insert cynical commentaries and gratuitous violent scenes whenever possible (the walk-on characters of grade-school aged sisters seen in their home garden strangling each other until both turn blue over a petty matter, for example.) After a while, the initial sense of witticism gives way to depressing negativity.

Ah. I absolutely sound too harsh. After all, I did find the book charming in its quirky, outlandish, and even informative (lots of New York City historical oddities and other useful tips, such as how to put on a successful disguise and how to tell if someone is telling a lie) way. I guarantee its success with many young readers, especially somewhat brainy 5th and 6th graders who aspire to become spies or super-heroines!

Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies)

Author: Justina Chen Headley
Rating:
Reading Level: 7th-9th

Pages: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Edition: Hardcover, 2006

I had to try twice to finish this book. During the first attempt, I got SO annoyed by the piled-on, not-always-so-clever, made-me-cringe similies and metaphors (dried shitake mushroom of a heart?) that I simply had to put it down. I couldn't believe that the author was getting away with such a case of over-writing syndrome.

However, since I had to read it for the Asian Pacific American Award of Literature, I braced myself to continue reading. Gradually, I accepted that this habit of overusing figures of speech belongs not to the author but to the narrator, who is both an over-achiever and someone who does not recognize her own strengths. Lots of humor and cultural references (although they can be somewhat stereotypical) - both realistic and with quite a bit of exaggeration make the book eventually an entertaining read, albeit a bit of a mess in plot twists and tangents. But, hey, a half-half Taiwanese-White American girl whose father went absentee when she was just a tot, whose mother is pushy and demanding, whose brother just got into Harvard, and whose first love turns out to bit quite a jerk, is nothing short of a messy situation.