Th1rteen R3easons Why by Jay Asher

Hannah Baker killed herself. When Clay Jensen receives a box of tapes in the mail, he is stunned to hear Hannah's voice on them. Before her death Hannah made tapes covering 13 sides of cassettes because there are "13 sides to every story". Hannah recorded these tapes and has sent them to the people she considers responsible for her suicide. The rules are that each person listens to all the tapes and then passes them onto the next person. If the chain is broken there is a second set of tapes which will be publicly revealed.

Thus begins Jay Asher's unusual novel about teen suicide. The novel opens with Clay Jensen, the ninth person to receive the tapes, mailing the tapes onto the next person. What follows is a narrative in Clay's voice of his experience listening to all the tapes, juxtaposed with Hannah's voice on the tapes - a dual narration.

We see how Hannah fails to cope with situation after situation in her life; failing to make close friends or developing a support system both at home and at school. She pushes people away, when she either has the chance or is offered the chance for help and support. It's a recipe for loneliness and disaster.

There are lots of ideas for teens to consider in this novel, making it a great book for a teen group discussion. Possibilities include to what degree are we responsible for friends; signs that someone is contemplating suicide, what teens can do to help a friend in trouble and so forth.

A sad but thoughtful novel that is sure to engage teens on a difficult subject.

Book Details:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
New York: Razorbill     2007
288 pp.

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

Mitali Perkins was born in Kolkata, India and lived in various countries before emigrating to the United States. If you'd like to find out more about her, please do check out her website, Mitali's Fire Escape. Her website has poetry and short fiction contests, webpages about her fiction and about her personal life.

I have read two of Mitali's books, Rickshaw Girl and just recently, Monsoon Summer which I enjoyed immensely. The latter is about an American born East Indian girl named Jasmine "Jazz" Gardner who spends the summer in India. Summer is the monsoon season in India, and that means it's a time of madness and magic.
Jazz's father is American while her mother was an Indian orphan who was adopted by an American couple. Her mother arranges this trip to her native India to help the orphanage she was adopted from and the entire family tags along to help out as well.

But for Jazz, the trip means leaving behind the boy she's fallen in love with - Steve Morales who is also her business partner and best friend from kindergarten. The trouble is, while Jazz has come to acknowledge her feelings for Steve, she is certain Steve does not share feel the same way about her.
This novel deals primarily with Jazz opening her heart up to helping out others as well as opening up to Steve about her love for him. It is Danita, a lovable, warm and realistic character who really helps Jazz the most and who adds so much charm to this novel. Danita helps Jazz reconcile her Indian heritage and learn to feel comfortable with who she is, and who helps her to feel comfortable with her feelings for Steve. She also helps Jazz to step outside her own narrow world. In return, Danita gets a chance to make a better life for herself.
A subplot about her mother learning more about her background and time at the orphanage is never really developed. The book focuses more on Jazz and her long distance relationship with Steve over the summer and her relationship with Danita.

This is a romantic, coming of age novel that will appeal to younger teens, with a side focus on helping others along life's journey and on a first world teen reaching out to third world peers.
Highly recommended.

The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

When I was in my local public library last week, this book's title caught my eye . I have to preface my review with the fact that I'm enamored with the history of Niagara Falls. This is in part due to the fact that when I was a child, my music teacher, for reasons unknown to me, always had lots of books in her studio on Niagara Falls. The result is that I grew up knowing all about Blondin, Farini, Annie Taylor and the ice jam of 1848. I was thrilled to read about the people who went over the Falls in various contraptions, some of which worked, many of which, did not. Added to this, was my family's yearly visits to Niagara Falls to picnic in a small meadow beneath the huge black water tower - both long since gone. So, little wonder the title alone was enough to push me to pick up the book!


Cathy Marie Buchanan, a native of Niagara Falls, who has the eclectic mix of degrees in biochemistry and business from the University of Western Ontario presents an astonishingly good first offering with The Day the Falls Stood Still.

This historical romance opens with Bess Heath, the protagonist, leaving Loretto Academy at the end of her junior year. Her father, is director of the Niagara Power Company and her family has led a privileged life up to this point. But Bess's life begins to unravel right from the start.

Her father had recommended to all his friends that they invest in aluminum but with the war, the price of aluminum plummets, the smelter fails and many suffer severe financial losses. This leads his boss, Mr. Cruikshank to fire him and his son, Boyce Cruikshank, to call off his engagement to Bess's beautiful, older sister Isabel. Bess's father reacts by drowning his sorrows at the Windsor Hotel while Isabel struggles with depression and some other hidden worry.

When her father does not show up for Bess's final night at Loretto, she and her mother must take a trolley home. Along the way, they are offered help with Bess's trunk by a handsome, young man, Tom Cole, who deftly carries the trunk to Glenview, the family mansion in Silvertown, Niagara Falls.

Bess falls for Tom Cole who we learn is the grandson of Fergus Cole a legendary Niagara Falls figure in the 1800's, known for his fearless rescues and his knowledge of the river. Tom Cole lives at the Windsor Hotel, serving drinks and also works fishing "floaters" out of the river. Not surprisingly, Bess's family are not impressed and her older sister Isabel advises her that "while the Boyce Cruickshanks of the world might be out of the question" she doesn't have to "settle" for a fishmonger.

Despite an attempt to please her family and choose a man they approve of, in the end Bess follows her heart. The second half of the book is therefore devoted to describing her life with Tom Cole and her family's struggles set against the backdrop of life in the early 1900's in Niagara Falls and that of World War I. Buchanan bases the character Tom Cole loosely on William "Red" Hill, Niagara's most famous riverman.

The prose is often elegant, filled with delightful descriptions.

At first blush, Mother's garden seems as immaculate as always. Intricate blooms of columbine nod in midmorning sun. Coneflowers stand erect, their central cores thrust forward, bristling with seeds. But all except the hardiest spires of foxglove and delphinium lay toppled, stalks collapsed under the weight of their own flowers. Peonies droop, their heavy blooms, unsupported by stakes, decaying on the ground. Beneath the garden's canopy of foliage, purslane spreads its weedy tendrils. Fronds of yarrow and tapered blades of crabgrass poke through once orderly beds of hosta and cranesbill.....

Pictures and drawings of the environs of Niagara Falls add to the overall sense of history and understanding of the Falls. Buchanan also drew from the considerable canon of literature on the Falls as evidenced in her acknowledgments at the back of the book.

However, The Day the Falls Stood Still is more than just a historical romance. It is filled with tragedy and sadness. Buchanan writes about Bess's loss of faith in God, the separation of people due to different classes in society, the aftermath of World War I on soldiers, marriages and society, the controversy over the construction of the power dams on the Niagara River and the struggles of ordinary people at the turn of the century to survive personal tragedy. Buchanan's writing also imparts a sense of what life was like for single and married women in Canada during the era of World War I.

Although this book didn't have the ending I longed for, I thoroughly enjoyed this first novel and can't wait to see Cathy Buchanan's next offering.

Book Details:

The Day the Falls Stood Still  by Cathy Marie Buchanan
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd        2008
298pp

Silent In An Evil Time by Jack Batten

Silent in an evil time: The brave war of Edith Cavell by Jack Batten tells the story of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who helped to rescue hundreds of British and French soldiers trapped behind German lines during World War I.

Author Jack Batten accomplishes a great deal in this book, providing historical information on the development of the nursing profession from the late 1800's into the early 1900's, as well as background information on the events and conditions that led to the start of the Great War. In this way, Silent in an evil time is much more than just a biography about a remarkable woman. Young readers will be familiarized with many prominent figures of this era and in the years immediately preceding the early 20th century, including Florence Nightingale and Archduke Franz Ferdinand.


I will leave it to readers to discover the significance of the phrase, "Silent in an evil time" to Edith Cavell. In the end Edith was not only known for her nursing and for her heroic efforts in helping Allied soldiers during the war but also in her belief that "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone."
Batten directs his young readers in an informative and captivating way to this book's sad ending.

Highly recommended for ages 10 to 15.

Book details:

Silent in an evil time: The brave war of Edith Cavell
by Jack Batten

Tundra Books 2007
135pp

The Soldier's Secret

The soldier’s secret: the story of Deborah Sampson by Sheila Klass is a historical novel based on the true story of Deborah Sampson. The time is 1776 and Sampson enrolls in the Continental Army to fight the British. The opening chapter is riveting, with Sampson under the name of Robert Shurtliff, in an army hospital and taken for dead.


Although very much not dead, Sampson must pretend to be so because to be discovered a woman, would be as good as dead. Her secret however, is discovered by army doctor who removes Shurtliff from the hospital and cares for her. At his request, she writes her story, telling about her difficult childhood and her motives behind deciding to serve in the army. Along the way there is a tender love story and a bit of tragedy too that will pull young readers in.

Two major reasons I enjoyed this book were the beginning chapter: Klass’s hook is excellent, drawing the reader into what promises to be a fascinating story and that promise is fulfilled. The book begins in the present and then proceeds to fill in the history.

Secondly, the book is a quick read, not drawn out and therefore likely to interest young adult readers.

Highly recommended for ages 12 and up.

War Brides by Melynda Jarratt

War Brides. The stories of the women who left everything behind to follow the men they loved by Melynda Jarratt provides younger women like myself wonderful insight into exactly what it was like to leave everything familiar and come to another country - all for love.

When Canada joined Britain in its declaration of war against Germany on 10 September 1939, the last thing on anybody's mind was marriage.
But less than forty days after the First Canadian Infantry Division landed at Greenock, Scotland, on 17 December 1939, the first marriage between a British woman and a Canadian soldier took place at the Farnborough Church in Aldershot on 28 January 1940. That marriage, and the nearly 48,000 which followed over the course of the next six years, formed one of the most unusual immigrant waves to hit Canada's shores: all women, mostly British, and all from the same age group, the story of the Canadian War Brides of the Second World War is one worth telling.

While the book which is mostly the stories of many war brides who settled in different regions of Canada, such as Ontario, the Maritimes and so forth, there are also chapters which focus on specific aspects of the war brides. There is a chapter devoted to the unique issues of faith and language differences war brides of French Canadians encountered. Jarratt also has a chapter of the stories of the war widows of Canadian soldiers, and on war fiancees - that is, women who were not yet married to their Canadian soldiers when they arrived in Canada.

What I hadn't anticipated is the fact that many of these stories are a testament to the resourcefulness, resilience and courage of war brides, many of whom were not accepted by their husband's families and communities and many who struggled mightily with the huge cultural differences they encountered when they arrived in Canada. Many British war brides came from communities that had running water and inside toilets and arrived in Canada to find living conditions, particularly in rural areas, very primitive at best. Some found the isolation to be overwhelming.

There are many stories of women who came to Canada and never looked back. Though these women were homesick at times, they were warmly welcomed and had happy productive lives and long happy marriages.

War Brides has an extensive bibliography with listing of primary and secondary sources as well as various summary tables on marriages and births for Canadian servicemen serving outside Canada during WWII. There are photographs of the war brides and maps.

Highly recommended. An informative read.


Book Details:
War Brides. The stories of the women who left everything behind to follow the men they loved.
By Melynda Jarratt

Tempus Publishing Limited 2007
288pp

Fashion, fashion, fashion

Thought I'd post something a little different on here. A little something to get me into thoughts of spring!

Ever wonder what clothes you should wear for your body type? Ever wonder what basics you need for a good wardrobe? Have you ever gone shopping for a day only to leave the mall after an hour thinking "hopeless". Well Clinton Kelly and Stacy London from TLC's "What Not to Wear" have put together the definitive guide, Dress Your Best, to help you achieve this end.

The book's dedication reads "This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever looked into a full-length mirror and thought, "It's hopeless." It's not! We promise. "

And to that promise they definitely live up to. There are chapters for both men and women. What really appealed to me was the books organization: it is divided into chapters based on body type. Each body grouping has three categories, petite, average height and tall. Some examples of the body types listed in this book include "Bigger on top", "A little extra in the middle" and "Not curvy".

For each type there is a picture of a woman in a black body suit who represents that specific body type. This allows you to determine if you really do fit into the body type you think you might be. Then Stacy and Clinton work their magic and give tips on what works best for that body type, how to play up certain good features (yes, we all have a few of them) and how to disguise other "problem" areas.
For men, the body types are more simple with such categories as "Short", "Average", "Barrel-chested" etc.
This is a great book for those who might need to re-evaluate their dress code for work or a serious round of job-hunting. For the rest of us, it just might help us buy less and shop more efficiently.


The second book I found very useful is "InStyle. instant style. Your Season-By-Season Guide for Work and Weekend"

This book has lots of tips on how to build a wardrobe with basics and looks a fall/winter and spring/summer fashions. For example, the Fall/Winter Wardrobe chapter explains how to use one suit , four ways. There are plenty of pictures of actual pieces and what to pair them with. Even though this book was published in 2006, it's advice is still up-to-date.

Germania by John Wilson

Germania is a  novel about a Roman legion ambushed and slaughtered in the wilds of Germania. .The story is told by Lucius Quintus Claudianus, a member of the 19th Legion Scorpio, specifically the IXth cohort. In the opening chapter of Germania Lucius, nearing 100 years of age is living at his sister's grandson's villa just by the northwestern gate of the town of Herculaneum in 79 AD - the year of Mount Vesuvius' famous eruption which destroyed both Herculaneum and Pompeii. 

Lucius decides to write his story, "I have just returned from the roof and it is what I saw there that has prompted me to begin this tale. Although the sun still shines above and the sky to the west is as blue as a robin's egg, the picture is altogether different to the east. There a cloud hangs, turning the landscape below it as dark as midnight. It is no ordinary cloud, such as presages a thunderstorm, but an unnatural one that blossoms up in a vast column from the unknown depths of the mountain."

And so Lucius begins to tell us about the events that led up to a long forgotten tragedy, all the while unaware of the disaster about to unfold before him in Herculaneum. As a young apprentice signifer to the IXth Cohort, Lucius and a group of warriors are ambushed and captured by barbarians while on their way to Vetera to join the 19th Legion. They are quickly rescued by Cherusci warriors who are loyal to Rome and are part of the Roman Auxilliary forces. 

It is at this time that Lucius meets Freya, a Cherusci warrior who is travelling with her uncle Arminius. It is through Freya that Lucius begins to understand what life is like for the barbarian tribes that live on the borders of the Roman territory and what it is like to serve Rome but never be accepted as a an equal in Roman society. When Lucius offers Roman ways as a means to be civilized, Freya questions what being civilized will mean to her way of life and her tribe. It is this struggle to see the benefits Rome offers in contrast to the loss of a way of life and freedom that precipitates barbarian rebellion against Rome.

When the 19th Legion enters Illyria, Bato, leader of the Bruesci tribe rebels and attempts to force the Romans out of Illyria. The ensuing battle is described vividly and provides thrilling insight to Roman warfare. Although Bato is seemingly defeated this time, Freya soon comes to understand what her uncle Arminius is planning. When Arminius must choose between Rome and Cherusci, Freya must decide who she will be loyal to, Arminius, the Cherusci and their way of life, or Lucius and Rome.

Discussion

Germania is a novel that explores the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest which occurred in 9 A.D. The battle was fought between Roman soldiers and the Germani people. The battle began when the Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus were ambushed by the Germanic chieftain, Arminius. 

Arminius was a prince in Cherusci tribe, the son of the Cheruscan chief, Segimerus who was an ally of Rome. He learned to speak Latin, had Roman citizenship and was well educated. He eventually served in the Roman cavalry and became a commander in the auxiliaries. Arminius returned to Gaul where he served sd an officer in Varus's auxilia as well as a trusted advisor to Varus who was governor of Germania. But behind the scenes, Arminius was rallying the various Germanic tribes including the Cherusci, Marsi, Bructeri and many others to form an alliance against Rome.

Varus was considered a ruthless ruler in Germania and Arminius was not really loyal to Rome. Along with the other Germanic tribes, a plan was devised to ambush the three legions under Varus's command. Since the Roman army was well armed and very well trained, special tactics were needed. Arminius convinced Varus to set up a summer camp in Cherusci lands where they could be observed by the tribe. The plan was then to attack the Romans on their way back to their winter camp.

Arminius set his plan in motion, having his allies create unrest, while he influenced Varus's actions over the summer months. Varus began his move to the winter camp on September 7, 9 A.D with the XVII, XVIII and XIX Legions. Arminius left Varus, telling the Roman commander that he was organizing the Cherusci auxiliaries but in fact was organizing men from the Angrivarii and Bructeri to attack. The next day as the Roman army made its way through the Teutoburg Forest, they were attacked. Because of the dense bush, the Roman soldiers were strung out along a long line which made attack not only easy but successful. It is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 Roman soldiers were killed, with a small number likely being enslaved. The Roman defeat was so complete that it shocked Emperor Augustus. Although the Roman defeat in the Teutoburg Forest is often listed as the main reason for limiting the Roman incursion in Germania, there were likely other factors at work as well.

Wilson's writing is vivid, exciting and he manages to include a great deal of historical fact and information about Roman legions in Germania. The ending while tragic is supremely satisfying. Highly recommended.

Book details:

Germania by John Wilson
Key Porter Books Limited 2008
278pp

What Really Sank The Titanic by Jennifer Hooper McCarty and Tim Foecke

Initially, I took this book out to read the last few chapters, expecting that it would be dry and very technical. While it was very detailed and technical, this book was completely engaging after the first chapter. It's a credit to the writing skills of authors Jennifer Hooper McCarty and Tim Foecke that they can make wrought iron, cast iron, steel and rivets so interesting!


The first chapter provides a background of the luxury shipliner business as it existed at the turn of the last century and places it within the context of major scientific and industrial discoveries (namely, the Marconi wireless and changes in material from wrought iron to steel) of the period. The book reads like a major thesis and progresses logically with the authors stating their thesis in the preface, that

"substandard materials used in some of the riveted joints of the ill-fated liner caused the first six compartments to flood after the iceberg impact and allowed the largest man-made moving object of the time to sink in a little more than two hours on that night in April 1912."

What Really Sank the Titanic is divided into four parts comprising the background, the facts of the sinking and the investigations undertaken over the past 80 years. the analysis of material from the Titanic and the final part which discusses other interesting facts as well as the current state of the wreck.

McCarty and Foecke's presentation is logical, easy to understand, and the book is completed with colour plates and diagrams to aid the reader's understanding. A good read for those not saturated with Titanic information and who want something "authoritative" and new to read on this subject.

Book Details:
What Really Sank The Titanic by Jennifer Hooper McCarty and Tim Foecke
Citadel Press   2009
320 pp.

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Wnkatraman, Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet by Kashmira Sheth

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Wenkatraman is a novel set in British-occupied India during the Second World War. The plot revolves around Vidya and her family who live in Bombay. They are of the Brahmin caste and are wealthy, with Vidya being driven to school every day in the family's Austin.

When her father is seriously injured in an Indian demonstration against the British, the family's fortunes take a downturn and Vidya, her brother Kitta and her mother must go to live with relatives in Madras, who live a more traditional way of life. This traditional way means that women live separately from the men, with the women living on the first floor and men on the second floor of the home. But it is on the second floor that Vidya learns there is a library - a place she as a woman, is not allowed. Hence the book's title, Climbing the Stairs. Raman, a young student living with Vidya's aunt and uncle, helps Vidya obtain permission to use the library and soon a strong friendship develops between the two.

Vidya also begins to assert her strong will and pursue what she wants in life - to be educated. Against the backdrop of World War II, it is world events that help bring about the climax of this story.

Climbing the Stairs is well written and engaging. Readers will be able to develop a sense of the culture of India, especially with regards to the food, dress and customs, but not a good understanding of what Indian society was like during the war years and near the end of the British occupation of India. The lack of a glossary is somewhat frustrating as Indian terms are used throughout the book. In some ways, the book ended too abruptly for me. Several situations were resolved too quickly and without much depth.

A second novel, "Koyal dark, mango sweet" was much more interesting and enjoyable. The story revolves around Jeeta and her family's attempts to marry off three sisters (including Jeeta). Set in modern-day India, the novel opens with Jeeta's family desperately seeking a groom for their eldest daughter, Nimita, who has a serious eye condition. There are interesting descriptions of the family searching through the "matrimonial pages" in search of a suitable husband, followed by the readings of horoscopes and a first meeting. After enduring meeting at least seventeen young men, finally a spouse is found for Nimita - a good young man, Girish Mehta, from a nearby orphanage.

Next in line is Jeeta's sister Mohini. It is during this time that Jeeta meets Sarina, a young classmate whose mother is a lawyer and whose father is a judge as well as a young man named Neel. Sarina has a strong, positive influence on Jeeta. She widens Jeeta's perspective on what she can obtain in life through education. Until she met Sarina, Jeeta looked forward to marriage at a young age with little chance to see the world and participate much in it. As for her growing friendship with Neel, Jeeta must keep this a secret, because any contact with members of the opposite sex outside of family, is strictly frowned upon.

The descriptions of Indian rituals and food, the various religious festivals and customs, the type of dress and descriptions of places make this novel more interesting and help the western reader develop a sense of India. Indeed some of the chapters are named after Indian festivals and there is also a glossary at the back of the book to further explain Indian terms used throughout. As with "Climbing the Stairs" the title, Koyal dark, mango sweet also has significance, which I leave the reader to discover for themselves.

Book details:
Climbing the Stairs by Padam Venkatraman
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008

Koyal dark, Mango sweet by Kashmira Sheth
Hyperion Paperbacks, 2006

One Thousand Tracings. Healing the Wounds of World War II

Written by Lita Judge, One Thousand Tracings is a fascinating picture book inspired by events in the lives of the author's grandparents. The book jacket and the inside of the front and back covers are a montage of photographs, foot tracings, envelopes and letters from Germany listing the needs of post-war families.

The picture book is set up so in a somewhat diary form commencing with December 1946 with the entry "Papa Came Home" and follows monthly until September 1947 when the entries become further spaced apart. Each entry tells about a little girl and her family and how they first help friends overseas in need of shoes. These friends, the Kramers are so touched by the generosity of their American friends that they suggest they help other German families worse off and send tracings of their feet so that suitable shoes can be found. Soon thousands of foot tracings arrive.
Each entry is beautifully illustrated with exquisite water colour drawings which convey the emotions felt in each entry. There are also various photos accompanying some entries which show items sent overseas.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I learned something new about the post-war period and it was interesting to read about the authors connection to the story portrayed in the book.
Highly recommended.

Book Details:
One Thousand Tracings. Healing the Wounds of World War II
Written and Illustrated by Lita Judge
Hyerion Books for Children, 2007

The Occupied Garden

The Occupied Garden: Recovering the Story of a Family in the War-Torn Netherlands by Karen Den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski is a compelling read filled with both tragedy and hope. Written by sisters Karen and Tracy, this book details the Den Hartog family life commencing immediately prior to the start of World War II and throughout the occupation of the Netherlands by the Nazis. The book opens with the marriage of their grandparents,Cor and Gerrit den Hartog and their establishing a home and market garden.

The Occupied Garden tells the story of Cor and Gerrit as they struggle to raise their young family amid the Nazi occupation and pillage of the Netherlands. Cor, deeply devout tries to understand why God would allow such suffering. Other members of the family are also affected, each in their own way, despite Cor and Gerrit's attempts to protect them.

An unexpected tragedy, the family's resilience in the face of their own and their neighbour's terrible suffering make this story both poignant and tragic. The authors also tell the story of the Dutch Royal Family's sufferings during this time.

Book Details:
The Occupied Garden: Recovering the story of a family in the wartorn Netherlands
by Kristen Den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski
Toronto: McCelland & Stewart 2008
328pp