Margaret, are you grieving Over Goldengrove unleaving? Leaves, like the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? Ah! as the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By & by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie; And yet you will weep & know why. Now no matter, child, the [...]]]>
“to a young child”

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you will weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow’s springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

–Gerard Manley Hopkins

Grief is such an individual, totally consuming, and heart-wrenching experience — especially when the death is by a young person or is totally unexpected.  This book explores the grief process very well.  Margaret and Nico are teenage sisters.  While Nico generally seeks out her parent’s approval, Margaret is a little on the wild side.  However, that is not what gets her killed.  Margaret has a heart problem and ends up drowning in the lake near their home.

The story is told from Nico’s point of view, and about her struggle to get through each day, each month, each year.  She worries about her own health and about how her parents are coping with her sister’s death.  She’s concerned for her sister’s boyfriend and how he’s dealing with it.  She even endures those around her who try to make her into parts of Margaret instead of herself.

Finally, the story ends with an adult Nico writing about how she and her family have recovered from their grief over the years.  Although — as anyone knows who has been through it — you never really get over the death of someone close to you.

2008, 288 pp.

Just like [...]]]> I just love Neil Gaiman (not to mention that his looks remind me of a close friend I had in college).  Well, I love his books, too, and this one was no exception.  It’s my third Gaiman, and although I still think I liked Coraline a tiny bit better, I loved The Graveyard Book.

Just like Coraline, I listened to this on audio with my two teenage sons.  If you haven’t heard Gaiman narrate his own books, you’re definitely missing out.  Most authors should not narrate their own books; Gaiman is one who should never allow someone else to do so.  His voice is perfect for it, and of course, no one would ever know his books better than he does.

The Graveyard Book contains a colorful (though some are long dead) cast of characters, some very creepy scenes, and some genuinely heartwarming ones.  It’s one of those perfect children’s/YA books in which it was definitely written to also appeal to adults.  It was great for the R.I.P. Challenge, and it was great to experience another one of Gaiman’s treasures as a family.

2008, 320 pp.

Neil Gaiman’s website.

Neil Gaiman’s web journal. (I’m a subscriber)

2008, 465 pp.

The original Swedish title of this book means Men Who Hated Women, and that title is an excellent forewarning about what the book is about.  If you like gritty crime novels or shows like CSI, you’ll probably love the book.   My eyes and stomach prefer much [...]]]> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson

2008, 465 pp.

The original Swedish title of this book means Men Who Hated Women, and that title is an excellent forewarning about what the book is about.  If you like gritty crime novels or shows like CSI, you’ll probably love the book.   My eyes and stomach prefer much milder fare, but I’ll still probably read the second installment, The Girl Who Played with Fire, when it comes out next year.

The girl who has the dragon tattoo is Lisbeth Salander, a girl in her mid-twenties who is a PI and can find out just about everything about anyone.  I liked her.  A lot.   Her character was fascinating and Larsson ends the book in such a way that leaves you wanting to hear more of her story and background.

Mikael Blomqvist is a journalist who has just lost a court case for libel, which then puts his reputation and his magazine Millennium at risk.  He decides to temporarily leave the paper in the hands of his partner to save face.  Enter Henrik Vanger.  Vanger is the former CEO of his family business, the Vanger Corporation.  He hires Blomqvist to write a family history of the Vangers as a pretext to dig into the disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger.  The case has been cold for decades and though Mikael believes he won’t be able to find any new evidence, he accepts.  This is where the book really grabbed me and kept me reading until 1 am to learn the outcome.

The book really has three storylines to it, the Harriet Vanger story is in the middle, with Lisbeth Salander’s story on the outside of that, and with Mikael Blomqvist’s story on the very outer edges.  Consequently, the climax occurs with quite a few pages still left in the book.  So at first it felt like the book should be over, but then after awhile I was able to get into the secondary and tertiary stories as well.

As I stated in the beginning, it really is about men who hate women, so if you read it be prepared for what that involves.  I didn’t care for the more graphic scenes in the book, but I do know that not everyone is as sensitive to that as I am.  And I do want to find out more about the girl with the dragon tattoo when The Girl Who Played with Fire comes out next year.

1990, 89 pp. Rating:

Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is hilariously fun. Winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Drama and written by the author of Fall on Your Knees, this play takes the main character, Constance, and puts her in the middle of Othello and Romeo [...]]]> Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
by Anne-Marie MacDonald

1990, 89 pp.
Rating:

Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is hilariously fun. Winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Drama and written by the author of Fall on Your Knees, this play takes the main character, Constance, and puts her in the middle of Othello and Romeo and Juliet with very funny results.  Plot lines are changed, lines rearranged, and we get to really know the players as never before.

If you’re familiar with both plays you will be in stitches in parts.  Lines from the original plays are in italics to help the reader know the difference between those lines and MacDonald’s.  Even MacDonald’s are written in iambic pentameter.

Highly recommended — especially for lovers of Shakespeare or those participating in the Canadian Literature Challenge.

Bravo!

Alice Winston lives on a horse ranch in the desert with her father and reclusive mother, while her older sister Nona has run off [...]]]> I knew I would probably enjoy The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle because it’s about a girl growing up in a small town in Colorado — this girl did the same.

Alice Winston lives on a horse ranch in the desert with her father and reclusive mother, while her older sister Nona has run off with a cowboy riding the rodeo circuit.  With her sister gone, Alice’s father struggles to make the ranch profitable by boarding the horses of the wealthier women in town.  It’s a lot of work for just the two of them, and somehow they make do for awhile.  But all of them miss Nona and can’t understand why she’d leave the family and the ranch.

Meanwhile, Alice is dealing with being accepted at school and recovering from the death of a classmate.  She experiences her first kiss and her first crush.  She tries to make sense of the adults around her.  I sympathized with Alice and winced at the all too familiar pains of growing up.  I rooted for things to go her way.  Sadly, however, life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan.  Sometimes we just have to accept the way things are.

The God of Animals was Aryn Kyle’s first book.

2008 Spur (Best Western Long Novel)
2007, 320 pp.

This is a tale about dream-givers, nightmare-givers, a little [...]]]> I read this during the read-a-thon in the late night hours, and it was a perfect fit. I love Lois Lowry. I haven’t found a book yet by her that I didn’t like, and she is the author I’ve read the most of this year.

This is a tale about dream-givers, nightmare-givers, a little boy, his mother, a puppy, and an older female caretaker. It’s difficult to say more without spoilers so I’ll leave it at that. It was a wonderful book.

2006, 140 pp.

Rating: 4.5

1997, 321 pp.

Booker Prize

Rating: 3.5

I finished this book two days ago, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this [...]]]> The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy

1997, 321 pp.

Booker Prize

Rating: 3.5

I finished this book two days ago, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this with my Book Awards group in September, and I have many things I’d like to talk about and discuss with them first before I write any kind of formal review.

I guess I will write one later. Lay Ter. (If you’ve read this book, you know what this means!)

2000, 215 pp.

Rating: 4.5

This book is the second in the trilogy which also includes The Giver and Messenger. I read The Giver, a Newbery book, earlier this year and absolutely loved it. This book doesn’t really continue where The Giver left off, but Messenger takes place after both stories and with [...]]]> Gathering Blue
by Lois Lowry

2000, 215 pp.

Rating: 4.5

This book is the second in the trilogy which also includes The Giver and Messenger. I read The Giver, a Newbery book, earlier this year and absolutely loved it. This book doesn’t really continue where The Giver left off, but Messenger takes place after both stories and with characters from each.

Kira is a girl who has just lost her mother to sickness. She is very distraught as it has been her mother who has protected her from the community. Kira has a bad leg, and everyone in the village with any kind of defect or deformity must leave the protected area and contend with “the beasts” outside of it.

As she goes back to her small house, the women around her make it known that they want her property as a place for their own children and animals. A legal proceeding takes place which decides the matter. Will she have to leave the community and contend with “the beasts”, or will an exception be made?

Recommended highly, but make sure you read The Giver before you read Messenger.

Rating: 2

I didn’t like this book. AT ALL. I absolutely love Beowulf, and I highly recommend reading or listening to Seamus Heaney’s version. Whereas Beowulf could almost be considered a Christian work, Grendel is nihilistic. Enough said.

1993 179pp

Newbery Medal

Rating: 4.5

I really, really liked this book. It is another “Big Brother” story similar to Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. Scary, scary.

Jonas is eleven years old. When he is twelve, he will receive his “assignment” or job from the Elders of his community. Everything is decided by the Elders. Who marries whom. Which [...]]]> The Giver
by
Lois Lowry

1993
179pp

Newbery Medal

Rating: 4.5

I really, really liked this book. It is another “Big Brother” story similar to Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. Scary, scary.

Jonas is eleven years old. When he is twelve, he will receive his “assignment” or job from the Elders of his community. Everything is decided by the Elders. Who marries whom. Which occupation you will have. Which children you will raise. And even who has to be “released” from the community. When Jonas is selected for a special position that only one other person in the community has, it is considered a very high honor. What Jonas discovers about this “honor” changes his life completely.

I read this for the Banned Book Challenge. I’m not sure why it would be contested. Perhaps because there is some talk about the “stirrings” of beginning s* x u ality in Jonas. I didn’t have a problem with this, but I’m really glad I read it before I gave it to my 13 and 12 year old sons to read. This book will make for a great discussion.

Also reviewed by

• The Well-Read Child 

Lisa – March 31, 2007

I’ve never read this either but have always been interested. I just finished Fahrenheit 451 last night, and wow.

Amanda – March 31, 2007

I love this book! It is a fantastic read and people always have different ideas of what actually happened at the end.

booklogged – March 31, 2007

This is one of my favorite books. Like you I wondered why it had been banned. I found the following site that lists some reasons:
http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/Giver.htmlLowry didn’t write a sequel, but she did write 2 companion novels: Gathering Blue and Messenger. Of these, Messenger is the best, but I think you need to read all 3 for full appreciation.

Les – April 3, 2007

I read this 5 or 6 years ago and absolutely loved it. Gave it a perfect 10, as I recall. Definitely time for a re-read!

2004, 247 pp. Pulitzer Prize – 2005

Rating: 5