Reading during the school year... (Part 1)

To kick off the summer, I thought I would post about some books I read over the course of the school year that stuck with me.

Over Thanksgiving break, I read Emma Donahue's Frog Music. Having read Room (now a major motion picture) several years ago and crying through it (yes, I have tear ducts), I was excited to read Donahue's follow-up.

While I was ready for realistic fiction, I had forgotten that this novel was historical fiction--and, in fact, very well-researched historical fiction based on a true story!

The Washington Post review by Ron Charles does a great justice to the book, but it dances around some of the graphic material....and this is not for those who feel they can't handle mature content (it is about a prostitute...a real one, not a Hollywood glamorization). Looking at this novel from a feminist perspective is interesting, as it seems in the beginning that Blanche is an empowered woman, only to see how impossible empowerment was for women at that time, given the constraints on what they could wear and even what they could own (for, if a woman was married, all that she had automatically became her husband's!).

Women are at the core of this story, and this novel takes an interesting look not only at women, but at a moment in time. Mature content aside, I found the portrayal of San Fransisco fascinating, especially as I had read about early California in Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune last summer. This seemed to me almost a sequel, with issues of sexual exploitation, racism, and violence recurring...as well as the pursuit of love. I won't spoil too much of this (in part because the content is so mature), but the following trailer provides an interesting preview of the story.

Over Winter Break, I read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, a memoir of growing up in South Africa. I have to confess that before reading this book, I really wasn't all that interested in Trevor Noah. As far as I was concerned, he was that poor replacement for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. However, after reading this book, I had a newfound respect for the man and his sense of humor.

Then, my father picked up the book, and said that it was providing him with a really interesting perspective on apartheid. I have to admit, that I didn't know that much about apartheid before reading the book, but I was eager to learn more. The book interestingly begins with the actual law surrounding black and white breeding and intermarriage, showing not only how severe the penalties were for a romance of mixed races, but also showing that those penalties were less severe for white people than for black people.

 What I found very interesting was the fact that Trevor Noah was in fact born a crime. If his mother had shown that she had a half race son, the state would have taken him away and send him to live in an orphanage, because people of different races couldn't live together. And just one example of his mother's ingenuity, she used to have a mixed race friend go walking with them in the park, so she could pretend she was the nanny, and not Trevor's mother. If someone had suspected that the friend wasn't Trevor's mother, they wouldn't be arrested.

Aside from providing an interesting look at apartheid, this book is relatable to anyone who has felt like an outsider, and shows how creative people can be when they are looking to make their way in an unjust world. This book also really highlighted the strength of Noah's mother, who we know from the outset is shot in the face  by her husband, and yet survives, waking up to tell a joke as her first words. 

 Additionally, there are funny anecdotes that show how we in the Western World can think singularly about certain issues. For example, one that really stuck with me, was a friend of his called Hitler. Noah points out that people often named their children for famous figures, and given that black people in South Africa weren't often educated, they didn't really understand why Hitler might be an offensive name, so when Trevor and his friend Hitler went to a Jewish school, well, you can imagine....

And as you can imagine, I read several other books during the school year, but those will wait for another day!

I lost count

The title implied that there were six, but it felt like more...

At least the authors were thorough, giving not only the details of the spies themselves but of the people who worked with and around them. In George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger gave a detailed accounting of the actions of the New York "Culper" ring of spies, as well as the details of other related actions.

I confess I didn't know much about Benedict Arnold before reading this book, and this gave me a much clearer picture of who he was and why he did what he did. I also learned more about Nathan Hale, who is much honored in CT, though the way the authors tell it, he seemed like a poor choice for a spy who was destined to be caught.

Anyway, if you thought spying was all James Bond, this book puts those notions to rest. These great spies in American history were great precisely because they were relatively ordinary men (and one mystery woman) who lived pretty ordinary lives, except for the fact that they were sharing everything they took care to overhear with the revolutionaries at great expense to their personal safety. 

Few people think of there being spies during "old" wars, but it was apparently common. In fact, I was surprised by how quickly the British spies confessed to spying, with the understanding that typically they would be returned in trade for someone from the other side. (That is how one famous British spy lost his life.) In fact, the British said they lost because they were outspied!

It was interesting to see how important intelligence was to America winning the war for independence, and while it was great to see so many excerpts from real letters, my only complaint was that sometimes these letters and profuse details slowed the "story" down. However, given that these were real people, this book does a great job providing a basis for its assumptions about their feelings at the time by supporting the narrative with such evidence. I also liked the epilogue, which elaborated on the theories of who the mystery female agent was since the original publication of the book.

So, if you are interested in the American Revolution, spying, historical research, or even how invisible ink came to be, then this is a great book for you.

Happy reading!

Flowers for that Peculiar Institution

It reminded me a lot of The Invention of Wings.

And given the subject matter, that's unsurprising. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim is the story of Mattie, a field slave who becomes wet nurse to Elizabeth, the first child of a large plantation owner in Virginia, and Lizabeth, as she comes to be called. The story is primarily told from two perspectives, though a bit of the story is told from Lizabeth's mother's perspective as well, and in this way the third person voice suits the story.

So, unlike Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings, which is told in first person in alternating chapters, this story can easily shift between the thoughts of the two protagonists mid-chapter (though it does so only when truly needed to maintain continuity). Also unlike the novel, this is entirely a work of historical fiction (whereas Kidd's story is somewhat based on a real abolitionist). However, like Kidd's novel (which I loved!!), the women in this story have a powerful bond that is tested by the institutions that keep them all "in their places."

From the beginning, you feel Mattie's heartache as she is forced to leave her three-month-old son with her "sister" (as we learn, when children are sold they are often adopted by another slave family...if they are lucky) and move into what is basically a generous closet next to the new baby's nursery. You get to feel how Ann (Lizabeth's mother) feels when she is not allowed to bond with her baby out of "propriety" and watches her daughter grow close to Mattie. And later, you see how Lizabeth struggles to understand how the dearest person in the world to her is considered less of a person.

I think I decided to buy this Kindle book when I read the interview with the author on Amazon, who worked in preschool and was educated in developmental psychology and attachment theory:

The idea for the story came to me in 1998 while I was with a group of people talking about Tiger Woods. Someone mentioned that he identifies as much as an Asian person as an African-American person. I thought to myself, "Of course he does, his mother is Asian. You form your core identity in relationship to your primary caregivers. It's a basic part of the attachment process."

While I still liked The Invention of Wings better (perhaps because I read it first, perhaps because I loved Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees), I think this was also a good book. If nothing else, I think telling so much of the story from Lizabeth's privileged perspective helps people today see how the Scarlett O'Hara fairy tale version of slavery is so wrong. And before anyone tries to say a book about slavery in 2016 is irrelevant, let's all pause for a moment to remember how this past February polls showed that many Trump supporters thought that slaves should not have been freed. Following Lizabeth and Mattie through their journeys really helps show how delusional it is to think that slavery is ever good for people, but also how hard it was for white people to disavow a system that brought so many perks to their lives.

The symbol of the yellow crocus made sense, and if a bit obvious, it was nice that it was a symbol of hope for both women, especially when both were faced with such ugliness. It was revealing to read about runaway slaves in Virginia, especially as Ohio was so relatively close. The details about slavery weren't sugar-coated, but they weren't so terribly brutal that the story was too disturbing for many readers. For example, when Mattie is in the whipping shed, the details about the slaves creating art on the walls with their own blood is graphic enough to leave an impression (seriously, the walls are covered in blood!), but not gory. The immense suffering is understood, but it is not at the forefront: rather, the HUMANS who made the art, who wanted to leave a record that they were there, is still the focus.

And that was perhaps the most refreshing  part of this story. The characters feel real, with real struggles, and not like abolitionist caricatures. There are some vivid details (rape, childbirth, etc.) which may not be appropriate for some high school students, but they are never gratuitous and add to the authenticity of the story.

So, if historical fiction is a genre you like, if you want to learn more about American slavery from a variety of perspectives, or even if you want to learn more about childbirth and rearing before modern medicine (Mattie is a wet nurse/midwife, after all), then this would be a great book for you. It is very well written, accessible, and has, as my students love, a happy ending!

Happy reading!

Aww Nuts

So, remember how I started picking some books based on their covers?

If you look at the cover of Penny Marshall's memoir My Mother Was Nuts, you'd think it was going to be a very funny book. It was not.

For those who don't know Laverne and Shirley or Big or A League of their Own, Penny Marshall is an actress/director who is incredibly funny and talented...on screen. Amazon had good reviews, but the top review on Goodreads seems to tell the story (albeit less generously).

I know English teachers are supposed to like books (and I did finish it, because I spent $2 on it and because it did get a little more interesting in the middle, when I learned about how some TV shows and movies are made), but I thought this was terrible. Penny Marshall led this AMAZING life, knows all these famous people, and yet the story read like: "I did this. And then I did this. This guy was there. He was really funny."

I know she worked with a ghost writer, and I don't know their qualifications, but I'd have to conclude that either the ghost writer wasn't very good, Penny Marshall insisted on creative control, or she did so many drugs that she couldn't remember any details that would have made this memoir feel like a life. 

In fact, reading an interview with her reads a lot like the book. It's the exact same stuff. It's a shame, because she was the first woman to make a $100 million dollar film, and with that kind of achievement, I wanted to know more about the BARRIERS she faced. Really, the struggles she has are glossed over, including her pregnancy in college which caused her to drop out and get married. Her whole life is turned upside down, and the way the book reads, it's like she had some stale Raisin Bran for breakfast.

I did find it interesting to read how A League of Their Own was cast, as I love that film. I love that Tom Hanks wanted the part so badly, and that the character of Kit was cast before Gena Davis (they dyed the hair so they would even look remotely like sisters). I loved hearing about how Jon Lovitz ad-libbed so many of his great lines in that movie (like telling the cow to shut up). All of that trivia was interesting.

This was a very fast read (I knocked it out in a few hours) and not very difficult. If kids want to know why smoking and doing drugs and having unprotected sex is bad, they might be interested in this, but I'm guessing most teens will pass. And unless you really, really love Penny Marshall (I do), I'm guessing many adults would pass too.
But if you want to know about how Penny Marshall got where she did, if you don't want to read the online summaries of the fun facts about her movies shared in her book (like how Marky Mark became Mark Wahlberg on her watch, or how she rode around France with Art Garfunkel), then this book is for you!

Happy reading!

Judging a Book by Its Cover

I should randomly buy books on Amazon all the time!

I'm pretty sure I bought Take Me With You  by Catherine Ryan Hyde based on the pretty cover. Okay, maybe I read the back of the "book jacket" (Kindle book!), and maybe I thought I'd identify with the science teacher protagonist who has a soft spot for these children, but I couldn't tell you why I picked it...

Especially when I reached the end and read the "About the Author" section, which showed book titles that I would have immediately shunned as sappy or gimmicky...I mean, this author wrote Pay It Forward (which was turned into one of those movies I would watch only if I NEEDED a good cry).

In fact, I think when I started reading and the mechanic offers to give this teacher his two kids for  the summer, I immediately knew I would have to suspend my disbelief. I mean, who does that? But the author makes that point: that the father's offer and the teacher's acceptance of the author are irrational... and later you delve into the reasons.

The teacher, August, is on a trip to scatter the ashes of his 19-year-old son, who died in a car accident. What we learn about along the way is how responsible he feels for the accident, even though he wasn't there. We also learn, through his children, how complicated the mechanic Wes's life is, and the author does what I didn't think possible: she makes the man who sort of abandons and neglects his kids sympathetic.

But Wes isn't the focus of the story. While August is the protagonist, the real "stars" are the children, Seth and Henry. I love the real and metaphorical journeys they take in the novel, and how the book's parabolic arc (while again, a bit cheesy), feels right and sweet. In fact, I remember reading what I thought was the "end" and realized that I was only 58% finished (again, love that Kindle books calculate this and the estimated minutes left in the chapter based on my reading speed). So, while in retrospect I should have seen the ending coming, I was so focused on what would happen at the end of August's trip with the boys that I forgot to think ahead to their lives after. And I was glad that the rest of the story wasn't a "happy ending," but something that reflected the nuance that would inevitably be a part of a "real" story.

So, while the book isn't necessarily high literary fiction, I found it a great beach read, and I highly recommend it to people looking for something uplifting (but not sappy), emotional (but not gimmicky), and real (despite the somewhat ridiculous premise). Oh, and it is all about nature and a dog! (Did I forget to mention that?). I learned a great deal about many of our national parks, and having never been out West to actually see the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, I loved the descriptions. (Although I don't know if I'd like all the camping...I would have joined Troop Beverly Hills if that was an option in Girl Scouts).

I think boys and girls would like this book, and there was NOTHING in here that I thought was especially inappropriate for high school (or middle school  for that matter). There is a great deal about drinking and alcoholism, but the protagonist is in recovery, and I liked the realistic way the book handled his addiction. Given how much I came to "understand" the boys alcoholic dad, I think it would be a great book for helping students understand how human their parents (and teachers) are--even if they don't have drinking problem.

"It's sort of like he's a good person and a bad person at the same time. Which I think is...not possible."

"Seth. It's not only possible, it pretty much describes every human being on the planet. Everybody is a good person and a bad person at the same time. The only real variation is in the balance."

So, had I judged this book by its author (and not just its cover), I would have missed out on an enjoyable and inspiring read.

Happy reading!

Have Mercy!

What sold me was a review that said it would be a great companion to To Kill a Mockingbird...

I didn't realize that the majority of Just Mercy took place in Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee was raised, or that this too involved the story of a black man wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime.

Unlike Atticus Finch, however, the protagonist of this story is the author, a black lawyer who is keenly aware of how unjust the system as. Race is thus always an element of this story, even when the people Stevenson defends aren't black, as he encounters his own challenges as a black attorney in Alabama (and other places across America).

With that said, this was not as "heavy" a book as it could have been. I really enjoyed reading it (couldn't put it down), and couldn't wait to find out what happened in the "main" story of his defense of Walter McMillian, a black man who had two strikes against him: success and a white girlfriend. When the local sheriff couldn't find a suspect for the murder of a beloved young white girl, he jumped on the chance to arrest McMillian once someone pointed the finger in his direction. At least that is how the book tells it...and in this memoir, Stevenson shows how much evidence had to be ignored to try and convict McMillian. (I don't think I'm spoiling anything by sharing one shocking example: his entire family was with him at the time of the murder! But their alibis didn't count when stacked against the testimony of a white criminal looking to make a deal!)

And this was all happening in Harper Lee's hometown, a place that celebrated the "justice" seen in the movie by using its courthouse to lure English majors and lawyers to spend tourism money. The irony is not lost upon Stevenson, who sees that the racism, classism, and even sexism portrayed in the novel is still alive and well in the modern day despite Harper Lee's indictment of the system.

As much as I wanted to know what happened, I liked how the author interrupted this story to share some of the other cases he worked on. At first I thought it was a poor conceit, but as he reviewed these other cases, it became clear he was showing, through example, just how unfair the system is to the poor, the too-young-to-know-better, the mentally ill, young mothers, and people of color. I read this book on my Kindle app, and found myself highlighting paragraphs that either shocked me (the statistics about how much we spend on prison vs. education weren't new to me, but were still shocking) or touched me.

Thus, when we returned to McMillian's story, the unfairness of it all was less shocking. His story--while an egregious example of injustice--was then framed as just ONE example of all the injustices occurring in our nation today. It also showed how "political" the law is, with district attorneys, judges, and politicians afraid to put what is "right" before what is popular for the sake of votes, money, and ease.

The story is also incredibly inspiring. The author came from humble beginnings, attended Harvard law, started a nonprofit practice to defend the defenseless (at a time when money was being cut to provide people with a defense....kind of like today!), and ended up winning all sorts of awards in addition to successfully arguing in front of the Supreme Court!

Maybe I'm the only person who would pick this as a beach read, but I found this to be well-paced, and interesting on both an academic and "popcorn" level. And, as has been the trend, apparently I picked a book that is being made into a movie! (Check out the handsome actor who will play young Bryan!)

Michael B. Jordan, who will star  in the movie, release date TBD.

 

While there are definitely disturbing facts in the book, nothing is so graphic that I would say this is not appropriate for high school. In fact, I think a young adult audience would connect with Stevenson right out of college and appreciate the look "behind the scenes" of our American system, which teenagers are already skeptical of. Oh, and I think adults would really like it too :)

Happy reading!

Barely Breathing

Definitely crying when I finished this one...

Whereas it took me a week to finish my last "for fun" book, it only took me a few hours to read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (and contributors).

The author with his wife and daughter.

As you will no doubt read in the book jacket, this is the true story of Paul Kalanithi, before and after his diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer at 36 years old. In fact, he died while working on the book in March 2015, and so his wife writes his final chapter.

But it isn't so much the story that is remarkable (though I love that he shared his journey to find himself, dual majoring in biology and English, and even earning a masters in English before deciding to become a doctor). What is interesting about this book is the voice and perspective, written as a "convert" in so many ways--from scholar to healer, from doctor to patient--though he never forgets to sprinkle in the wisdom from his favorite authors along the way. He found inspiration in poets and writers, especially those with medical training ("I took meager solace in knowing that William Carlos Williams and Richard Seltzer had confessed to doing worse, and I swore to do better. [...] Technical excellence was not enough.")

The author at work.

I personally loved learning about what doctors, and more specifically what neurosurgeons have to go through to become "doctors," and Kalanithi is very candid about how hard it is to keep perspective that patients are people when overwhelmed by responsibility. Although he seems to gloss over some episodes that could have been elaborated on more (like how these pressures drove his good friend to suicide), given that this is an unfinished book, it's pretty compelling.


I loved how connected to literature the novel was. In fact, the author confesses that "it was literature that brought [him] back to life" after being confronted with the certainty of death (though not the certainty of when that death would come). Paul wanted to know what makes life meaningful, and believed that poetry, literature, and language were essential to life. 

His wife, Lucy, writes in the epilogue, "Paul confronted death--examined it, wrestled with it, accepted it--as a physician and a patient. He wanted to help people understand death and face their mortality." (You can watch a short interview with her below.)

So, if you are looking for an inspirational true story, if you have been pondering what makes life worth living, if you are interested in medicine, if you know someone struggling with cancer, or if you just want a good cry, I would say this is a great book for you.

Happy reading!