Next Friday Spines Review

Hello dear readers! On Friday I'll be reviewing A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle. There are 5 books in this series, which overlaps with many of the author's other excellent books.



Happy reading-see everyone Friday!

M. Gabrielle

Book Review: A Complicated Kindness

Friday Spines Book Review 21:

A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews

Many phrases could be put on the back cover of this book, including "coming-of-age", "uniquely and darkly funny", "rebellious", and "unexpected". This sounds rather like an odd book you'd prefer to stay away from--perhaps reread your favorite Meg Cabot book, or some of Jane Austen's short stories. Unlike some (wonderful) books that are easier to describe without going on for as long as the book is, A Complicated Kindness is only done justice by itself.

Nomi Nickel, who lives in an ultra-religious town with strict but inconsistent rules, is a person who notices minute details. With a philosophy that the best way to find a line is to break way through it and come back slowly, she reflects on the sudden and unorthodox disappearances of her mom and older sister, trying to figure out if she should take their path (whatever it was) or try to fit in with the judgmental and close-minded Mennonites of her hometown.

"School the next day. I fell asleep in math. And geography. The principal invited me into his office. I decided not to say a word. I picked a spot on the wall to stare at the way they tell you when you're in labour. Clearly these are not the best years of your life, he said to me. I felt almost drunk with gratitude when he said that. I felt as though he had entered my mind and, like a weapons inspector, had thoroughly assessed the situation with a cool, slick professionalism and was, even as we spoke, formulating some kind of counteracting. It was a type of understanding. I thought he was going to rescue me. But that's where it ended."

With minimal punctuation and short, concise sentences, Nomi gives us everything she notices, thinks, wishes, observes, in a clear and unique voice. She manages to explain bizarre situations in a way that completely makes sense--like dreams that seem perfectly mundane while you're in them but sound utterly ridiculous out loud the next day, A Complicated Kindness will draw you into its story but catch you off guard when you try to explain it to your friends.

I'd recommend Nomi's story for ages 14 and up. The content is fairly mundane (there is drinking, smoking, drugs and sex, but it's portrayed ambivalently and matter-of-factly instead of in a positive light), but Nomi's voice is very subtle, and there's a lot left unsaid.

Other things I liked about this book:

• The title is perfect for the book: Intriguing, off-kilter, introspective while contemplating human nature in a fresh, distinctive way.
• Subjects like mental illness and disabilities, shunning, and religion aren't approached in a simple, childish way, but in the voice of a teenager who's questioning absolutely everything.
• The lack of quotation marks around speech makes you slow down and reread people's words, and it grows to be a habit in the rest of the book. There's so many more details and connections than can possibly be noticed the first time you read it, and as the plot is all details, the story gets clearer (and somehow more complicated) as you get to know the book.
• Flashbacks with commentary are integrated into the rest of the story along with impeccable tense changes. 

Other books you might enjoy: The Nature of Jade, by Deb Caletti; Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson; and Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.

Happy reading--see everyone on Monday!

M. Gabrielle

Next Friday Spines Review

Hello, my lovely readers! The next Friday Spines post will feature A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews. This book has no sequels, but will make you think enough to read it two or three times. :)

Happy reading!
M. Gabrielle

Book Review: The Year of Secret Assignments

Friday Spines Book Review Number 20 (another anniversary! Go have some chocolate and read a nice book :): 

The Year of Secret Assignments, by Jaclyn Moriarty

The Ashbury-Brookfield series is something I'd not recommend reading in the library. It goes from utterly serious to utterly funny, in the sneak-up-behind-you kind of way that resulted in the coining of "bursting" out laughing. (It's not good on airplanes either, especially if you're in the middle seat.) This series is, however, perfect for reading in the bathtub, when it's raining, if you need to take your mind off something, or for those days that keep getting worse. The only bad thing that will happen is your stomach might get a bit sore from laughing too much.

The Year of Secret Assignments is the story of Ashbury High students Cassie, Emily, and Lydia, who begin (aka are forced by their eccentric English teacher) writing letters to "Brookfield kids" Matthew, Charlie, and Seb (Sebastian). The three boys are students at rival school Brookfield High, and at first glance, have nothing in common with their reluctant pen pals.

After a few months of letters between the three pairs (interspersed with excerpts from Lydia's Notebook, Cassie's journal, and Emily's family's notes to each other), though, Emily/Charlie and Lydia/Seb are getting on quite nicely. Charlie has gone out with a Date With A Girl and been given an A+ by Emily, and Lydia and Seb are getting quite familiar with the other school's fire alarms. Matthew, after sending Cassie quite a few nasty letters, has a personality reversal and becomes sweet and open with Cassie. His newfound kindness is made even more mysterious by the fact that Seb and Charlie, both in his English class, have never heard of Matthew. There's drama, misunderstandings, breakups, elaborate plans, and envelopes full of glitter, and you won't be able to stop reading.

I recommend this book for ages 13 and up. (That "and up" part? That means you have to read it too. Unless you're under thirteen--turn off the computer and go read The Phantom Tollbooth, please.) The humor is irreverent and certainly not mature in most cases, and it's slightly inappropriate for readers under 13, but the story isn't trashy.

Here's and excerpt of a note to Emily from her dad--Jaclyn Moriarty's writing really does speak for itself.

"Dearest Emily, I write to keep you informed of the progress of your parents. Your mother is currently:
(a) blow-dry her hair;
(b) shouting something inaudible down the stairs;
(c) cranky (because I lost the plane tickets).
Your father is currently:
(a) eating a banana;
(b) writing this letter to you; and
(c) happy (because i just found the plane tickets right her in the fruit bowl!) ... Attached...is a photograph of your mother and me, which I just found here int he is marvelously fruitful fruit bowl. The photo will remind you what your parents look like. Doesn't your mother look gorgeous? She is the one in the hat."

Other things I like about this book:

• The format has lots of variety but is easy to follow. The only confusing parts are when there are long chapters with letters between Lydia/Seb or Emily/Charlie, and then a new section with, say, Cassie's diary entry describing something that happened a long time ago in Lydia's letter to Seb. It takes a minute to adjust to, but the writing is so clear that you won't be confused. 
• There are different fonts for the signatures of all the regular writers in this book--well-placed font changes can make all the difference in a book.
• The cheesy parts manage to be endearing while still being cheesy enough to make you notice that you're not bothered by the cheesiness, and the profound parts won't make you roll your eyes at all. The contrast between the two is perfect, while still written in the same tone as the rest of the book.
• All of the characters are delightfully imperfect, and make mistakes that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes sobering, but always something you could imagine you or your best friend doing. 

Other books you might like: The rest of the Ashbury/Brookfield series; Things You Either Hate or Love, by Brigid Lowry; and The Princess Diaries, by Meg Cabot. 

Happy reading!

M. Gabrielle

Next Friday Spines Review

Hello, lovely readers! My next review will cover The Year of Secret Assignments, by Jaclyn Moriarty. It's technically the second in a (so far) 4-book series, but as long as you read the fourth one last it really doesn't matter. 

See you Friday!
M. Gabrielle

Next Friday Spines Review

Hello, my lovely readers!
On Friday I'll be reviewing A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. It's the first book in the Gemma Trilogy, and I recommend getting all three books at the same time (whether from a bookstore, a library or Amazon) because you won't be able to concentrate on anything else until you've read the ending. :)

See you Friday!
M. Gabrielle

Book Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

Friday Spines Book Review Number 18:

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

First, if you've read this book, thank you. I can't believe the number of people I've met who haven't--if I had to chose one book to represent humanity, it would be To Kill A Mockingbird.


"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." --Atticus, To Kill A Mockingbird


One of the reasons this story is so amazing is that it has so many stories in it, impeccably woven together to represent life. Scout Finch, our spunky narrator, is five years old when the book starts. She has short hair, wears overalls, loves to read, and sees no reason not to do exactly what she pleases. Scout lives in a "tired old town" called Maycomb, in Alabama. In Scout's mind it's a sheltered place, even the smallest places were part of the earthshaking Civil Rights movement and the events leading up to it.


Scout's childish but clear voice tells the story of her life as it intersects with those of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl; Dill, her best friend and next door neighbor who can't stand the amount of injustice in the world; Dolphus Raymond, a man who pretends to be drunk so the small-town gossips will be able to explain his unheard-of marriage to a black woman; her father Atticus, a criminal defense lawyer who is also the bravest man in the world; and Jem, her older brother with a passion for Egyptians, football, and acting aloof. 


Harper Lee's writing is amazingly complex, but you won't even notice the different layers of the story. By telling it in the voice of a young girl, who sees the world in a less complicated but somehow truer way, the author allows us to almost absorb the book off the pages in a manner that's closer to breathing than reading. 


There is serious material in this book: Racism, murder, moral questions, and injustice, but the language is innocuous, and you get exactly as much out of the book as you want to. I first read To Kill A Mockingbird when I was about 9. I got the audiobook and listened to it in the car with my mom, and fell in love with Scout instantly. A few years later I studied it in an English class, and was glad to be already familiar with the book; I've always been happy that I read it when I was young. I'd recommend Mockingbird for ages 10 and up. 


Read it to or with your child, or if you can access the audiobook do; Sissy Spacek's voice fits right into the story, and you'll be hearing her as Scout for days afterward.If you haven't read this book find a friend who has, and ask them to read along with you: If they're really your friend they've undoubtedly been telling you to read it for years, and will be thrilled to discuss Miss Maudie, the Cunninghams and Boo Radley with you for hours on end.


Other things I love about this book:

• The serious topics are combined with humor, both young and mature: Dill and Jem provide pranks that never get old, Atticus's sarcasm is impeccable, and Scout sees everything in such a quirky light that you'll be laughing every time you think of her.
• Harper Lee captures the slow Southern dialect of Maycomb in both sentence structure and spelling.
• Although Scout is a complete tomboy, she learns both the value and the skill involved in "being a girl": cooking, cleaning, and running a household.
• Doing the right thing is portrayed realistically, not as a choice that is always obvious or easy, but something that may be difficult but afterwards (perhaps months or years so) will feel the best.

If there's anything you didn't like about this book, let me know. I couldn't find anything, except perhaps the lack of a sequel. 


Check out this map of Scout's neighborhood; the book is a lot of fun to plot out on your own map as well! :)


Other books you might like: A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett; The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly; and Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury. 


Related books: Scout, Atticus and Boo, by Mary McDonagh Murphy; Mockingbird, by Charles J. Shields; and I Am Scout, also by Charles J. Shields, this book is good for younger readers interested in Harper Lee's past.


Note: All links except for the map lead to Goodreads or somewhere on Friday Spines. 




Happy reading!
M. Gabrielle