Amal Unbound: A Novel by Aisha Saeed

Twelve-year-old Amal lives with her parents and three younger sisters, Seema, Rabia and Safa.  Her mother is expecting a baby any day and Amal and her sisters are excited. Everyone hopes this baby will be a boy. They live in a small Punjabi village in Pakistan which is controlled by Khan Sahib, a powerful landlord who lives in a large compound some distance away.

Amal loves school and is the favourite of her teacher, Miss Sadia. She usually helps Miss Sadia after school but with her mother's baby due any day, her father wants her to come home and help. Amal's dream is to someday be a teacher and to attend college with her best friend Hasfa.

Amal frequently meets Omar, who is the son of their servant Parvin, after school by the stream near her father's sugarcane fields. Omar and Parvin live in the shed behind their house. Omar attends the boys school which  has a much larger library than Amal's girls school. Their secret meetings offer Amal a way of gaining access to those books which Omar brings for her.

This time their meeting is interrupted by Seema who tells Amal that she must come home as the baby is coming. Her mother gives birth to a healthy baby girl, a fifth girl and not the boy her parents were hoping for.  This sends Amal's mother into a serious depression. She spends all day in her bed sleeping and can barely care for the new baby. Amal realizes that she needs to stay home for a few days to help out. However after missing nine days, her father has other plans, insisting that Amal, as the eldest daughter, must now stay home to care for her younger sisters, Safa and Rabia.  Amal is devastated as this means she will fall further behind in school and likely miss exams.

Seema gives Amal hope as she brings home a folder with some of Amal's school work from Miss Sadia. Two of Amal's mother's friends, Fozia and Miriam Auntie arrive bringing laddus, one of her mother's favourite treats. During their visit, Amal overhears them talking about the Khan family and how Jawad Sahib who now controls the village, has a reputation for being cruel. Jawad destroyed the entire village of Hazarabad when the villagers banded together and refused to pay back their debts. He destroyed all of their orange groves and cotton fields. Amal's friend Hafsa stops by to talk and encourages Amal to continue to pressure her father to return to school so their dream of attending college together won't be lost.

However, Amal's life is ripped apart when she has a fateful encounter with Jawad Khan after shopping at the market. After purchasing a pomegranate as treat for herself, Amal steps out on the road to walk home and is struck by a black car driven by Jawad Khan. He offers to drive her home but wants to take her pomegranate for his mother. Jawad offers Amal a fistful of money for the fruit but Amal stubbornly refuses, tired of always having to give up things dear to her for someone else. Her refusal results in terrible consequences for her, but in the end offers Amal the chance to bring the Khan family to justice and free her village from their tyranny.

Discussion

Amal Unbound is a well-written novel for younger readers that tackles some of the issues girls in many developing countries face. These issues include the inability to make their own decisions about their lives, the lack of schooling for girls, the preference of boys over girls, and the lack of freedom to do things girls in the West take for granted, like riding a bike or driving a car. These inequities are very much a part of Amal's life in Amal Unbound.

When Amal's friend Hasfa shows up at her house riding a bike, Amal questions her as to whether her parents know she's riding a bicycle. "Most people around here frowned upon girls riding bicycles, and Hasfa's parents had let her know they were one of them." But Hasfa insists that if her brothers are able to ride a bicycle, she should be able to as well.

With the birth of her sister Lubna, Amal is shocked to learn just how disappointed her parents are. "Of course I had known they wanted a son. I heard the conversations of our neighbors and the whispers in our own house. but staring at my parents' expressions right now, I saw they didn't look disappointed; they looked crushed." Because of the cultural belief that a boy is preferred over  a girl, Amal's mother becomes severely depressed and unable to care for her family.  Amal cannot understand why everyone is so disappointed and questions this belief when Miriam Auntie shows her dismay. "I knew everyone wanted  to have a son, but I was getting tired of hearing this. Wasn't she once a little girl, too?"  Amal doesn't understand why the women in her village have this view of girls as they were once girls themselves.

As a result of her mother's serious post-partum depression, Amal, as the eldest daughter is forced to stay home from school and care for the family. Her dream of going to college and becoming a teacher appears to be slipping away. And when she pushes back against her father's decision for her to remain home, her father questions her need for extensive education.

Amal confronts her father about returning to school after the birth of her sister, but he is noncommittal. His attitude is that she has had enough schooling for a girl. Her dreams are never broached nor considered. " 'In a week or so, we can see how things are going,' my father continued. 'But in any case, remember, you have already learned a lot. More than many of the neighborhood girls. You can read and write. What more do you need to know?' " 

The attitudes towards girls lead to Amal standing her ground when confronted by Jawad Shaib. Instead of backing down as a girl would be expected to, she refuses to give her pomegranate to Jawad and snatches it back from him. "I thought of my father, who had no time for my dreams. My little sisters and their endless demands. Suddenly I felt tired. Tired of feeling powerless. Tired of denying my own needs because someone else needed something more. Including this man. This stranger. Buying me off. Denying me this smallest of pleasures." 

When the crisis with the Khan family develops, Amal's mother seems to recover. It is at this point that Amal questions her mother about the preference for a boy over a girl." ' Why is having a boy all anyone can talk about?'" Her mother's response references cultural practices in Pakistan,
'Who else will care for us in our old age? Who will run the farm and keep your grandfather's dream alive?' " When Amal states that she or Seema can do this her mother responds that when she marries she will belong to her husband's family, that this is how the world works. It is a phrase that Amal will hear repeatedly but one which she eventually decides to tackle head on.

Aisha Saeed tackles all of these issues with sensitivity and in a way that is not judgmental but which encourages young readers to critically consider them. Through the character of Amal, she expresses how girls might feel about being denied school or the choice to ride a bike. The author portrays girls in countries like Pakistan as having the same dreams as girls everywhere, only to see them frustrated by restrictive cultural views. When Amal confronts her mother about the preference for boys, her mother's reply resonates with resignation and acceptance. She tells Amal, "I wish it wasn't this way, but this is how the world works."

Saeed has crafted a determined, courageous heroine in Amal, who grasps the opportunity to bring down the family in control of her village. Forced into indentured servitude to the Khan family, Amal sees her entire life upended. Although she it treated well by Jawad's mother, Nasreen Baji, she is unable to continue her education and is separated from her family. She discovers what her father and mother have always told her, that "life isn't fair".  Despite being well treated, Amal never gives up on her own dream but she is motivated to try to bring down the Khan family when she sees how much harm they are doing and how families she knows are suffering. She has no idea if her efforts will be successful, but seeing how many people the Khan family have hurt, she decides to act. "If everyone decided nothing could change, nothing ever would."

This is the important message Saeed has for young girls today; you can make changes that will make life better for girls in countries like Pakistan or anywhere. In contrast to her mother who has accepted things they way they are, Amal takes the risk to change something. She is inspired by a teacher at the literacy center who tells her about how he comes from a family of lawyers and the expectation was that he too would be one. But he found a way to achieve his dream. Asif tells her, "I'm the first one to be a teacher in my family. No one supported me, but I did it because this is what I always wanted to do. If I thought nothing would change, nothing ever would."  

When Amal, Nabila and Bilal find the evidence they need against Jawad, Bilal admonishes Nabila telling her knowing will not change anything. But Amal thinks differently. "There is was again. Nothing would change. This family was so powerful, there was no use in trying to fight them. But..."Just because something seems impossible, does that mean we don't try?" I asked."  Amal's big risk plays out into a big change for her village. 

Amal Unbound with its beautiful cover is a must read for young and older readers alike. The cover's artwork features a thorny vine wrapped around a girl's wrists that are decorated with mehndi. The beautiful mehndi designs, signify the beauty of South Asian culture, while the vines show that this beauty is often covered by the thorny, binding restrictions of that same culture towards young women.

Book Details:

Amal Unbound: A Novel by Aisha Saeed
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books 2018
226 pp.

Out Of This World: The Surreal Art of Leonora Carrington by Michelle Markel

In Out of This World, American author, Michelle Markel tells the story of English artist, Leonora Carrington and her art. When she was four-years-old, Leonora loved scribbling on the walls of her home. Her imagination was fed by the "enchanting legends from Ireland" that her grandmother told. "These stories took Leonora to worlds that shimmered beyond this one, and when the spirits flew, and the gods stirred their cauldrons, and the fairies shifted shapes...." 

Although her drawings were "fanciful",  her parents wanted her to follow a more traditional path, to become a lady and then marry a wealthy man. To that end, at age nine she was sent to boarding school. But Leonora rebelled until she was finally sent to Miss Penrose's Academy in Florence. There, she discovered that others were painting in the same way she was and this only fueled her determination to become an artist.

Leonora's parents eventually relented and sent her to art school in London where she met other artists who were known as surrealists, including Max Ernst, a famous surrealist. She eventually travelled to Paris to meet other surrealists. In 1940, with war coming to France, artists fled the country, many of them settling in Mexico. The exotic plants and animals of Mexico only stimulated Leonora's imagination further. She became friends with a Spanish painter named Remedios. Through her friend, she met a photographer named Chiki who eventually became her husband. Even as a wife and mother, Leonora continued to create her eccentric paintings. Her first exhibition in New York City enchanted visitors. Through the years Leonora continued to paint, design theatre costumes and create fantastical sculptures. 

Discussion

Leonora Carrington was an English artist whose paintings are known for their strange juxtaposition of objects - a type of art known as surrealism. A more detailed biography of  Leonora Carrington follows. Leonora was born into a wealthy family in Cockerham, England in 1917. As a child she lived with her parents and her three brothers, Patrick, Arthur and Gerald on their family's large estate.

Raised in a Roman Catholic family, Leonora was often rebellious. She and eventually was sent to Mrs. Penrose's Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. In Florence, Leonora was exposed to the world of art through the many galleries in this beautiful city. She wanted to become a painter, a choice her mother supported but her father did not.

In 1935, she attended the Chelsea School of Art in London where she met artists who painted in a unique style that was so attractive to Leonora. These artists were part of the Surrealist movement which drew on the imagination and free conscious thinking to create art. Leonora became involved with Max Ernst, a much older artist, running off to Paris with him. There she encountered more artists who were part of the Surrealist movement including Pablo Picasso, Salvadore Dali and Yves Tanguy. It was at this time that she painted Inn of the Dawn Horse which was a self-portrait.

Leonora and Max continued to live together in the south of France until 1940 when Max was sent to a Nazi detention camp. Max's imprisonment was so distressing that Leonora fled to Spain where she was committed to a mental institution, Santander against her will, after suffering a mental breakdown. Leonora was able to escape from the mental hospital and travel to Portugal where she  met and married Renato Leduc, a Mexican diplomat who helped her escape to the United States. She lived for a year in New York City, where she reconnected with the surrealist movement. At this time, Max Ernst was also in New York City but Leonora was not interested in rekindling their relationship. She then traveled to Mexico where she would live for the rest of her life. By this time she had divorced Leduc and was now a part of the vibrant art community in Mexico.

She became good friends with Remedios Vaso, a Surrealist Leonora had known in France. Leonora married Emerico Weisz, a Hungarian photographer who went by the nickname of "Chiki" and they had two children, Gabriel and Pablo. In 1947, a large exhibition of her work was hosted by the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. Leonora Carrington also found the time to write. Her works include a set of surrealist short stores such as the House of Fear written in 1938, Down Below which she wrote about her forced incarceration and The Hearing Trumpet which was a surrealist novel. In the 1990's Leonora created numerous large bronze sculptures. She was the last of the Surrealist movement artists, passing away in  2011.

As a picture book, Out Of This World does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Leonora Carrington's life and art. Leonora's work was influenced by the Celtic myths she learned from her grandmother, as well as her own dabbling in magical realism and alchemy. In Out Of This World, Markel focuses on Leonora's determination to forge her own path in life, even when she was a young girl. She rebelled against the constraints of  the time and the expectations of her Roman Catholic parents. She did  not want the traditional life of a wife and mother that was expected of her at the turn of the 20th century. She didn't want to be a debutante.  Instead, she rebelled and did the very opposite expected. She lived with a man, Max Ernst which resulted in her father disowning her. She was married twice, also highly unusual in the first half of the 20th century. While her choices in early life  were broke with tradition,  eventually Leonora did settle down and marry and have children. She eventually found her home in Mexico and it was there that her style matured.

Leonora was a strong woman who survived the displacement of war, overcame mental health issues and treatment that was harsh and against her wishes, and emigration to countries halfway around the world.  She persevered to create the art she felt inspired to paint. Markel writes that Leonora painted women in a way that was different from how men painted women, not as objects of beauty but both beautiful and strong. "Instead of lying on a couch, they were listening to the stars. Instead of posing in gowns, they were going on magical processions. They were friends with monkeys, Minotaurs, and mythic birds."  Her art, as her life, was not traditional but explored very unusual themes and was populated with strange objects, animals and people often strangely situated. Markel certainly portrays all of this in her book, aided by Amanda Hall's beautiful illustrations.

Illustrator Amanda Hall's artwork  in Out of This World reflects this artist's unique life and work. Hall's art is fantastical, capturing Leonora's life in a way that she herself might have painted it. Hall's illustrations are filled with vibrant colours that depict Leonora's rebellious childhood, her Irish grandmother's influence, her life in Italy and France, her escape from France, and her life in Mexico. Hall writes that "...the specific challenge for me was to convey the spirit, themes, and sensibility she explored in her creative output without attempting to re-create literally any of her actual imagery."

A beautifully crafted picture book to inspire budding artists of any age. 

Image credit: https://www.amandahall-illustration.com/

Book Details:

Out of This World: The Surreal Art of Leonora Carrington by Michelle Market
New York: Balzer + Bray        2019

Refugee 87 by Ele Fountain

With the widespread influx of refugees to Europe from Africa and the Middle East in recent years, as well as the ongoing issue of illegal immigration in the United States,  it's no surprise that this theme is beginning to show up in both young adult and juvenile fiction novels. Ele Fountain's debut novel, Refugee 87 is one such novel that explores the journey of a young refugee with heartbreaking realism.

Fourteen-year-old Shiferwa (Shif) Gebreselassie lives next door to his best friend Bini in a two room house.  Both boys are good students and ambitious about their futures. While Bini wants to be a doctor someday, Shif is considering engineering. Both boys have lost their fathers: Shif's father died when he was seven, while Bini's father left around the same time to find a better job but never returned. Every day Shif's mother goes to work taking his younger sister, Lemlem with her to her job mending clothing.

One day Shif and Bini notice an army truck parked outside their school with four armed soldiers watching the students enter the school. At school the atmosphere is tense and Shif finds he is unable to focus. At home that night, Shif waits for his mother and Lemlem to return home. When they are late arriving he decides to go to the nearest shop to purchase some injera despite being forbidden by his mother to go out after school. It is a rule he has religiously obeyed until now. On his way home, Shif hears soldiers knocking on the doors of houses and when a soldier calls out to him, he flees home. Later his mother tells him the reason for her strict rule: that by going out he makes himself visible to others and to the army.

The next day Bini doesn't attend school, despite having to write an important test. After school Shif tries to see Bini but Bini's mother, Saba tells him that he's at market and will not be returning to school. This news leaves Shif in shock because he knows his friend loves school.  They have one more year of school and the mandatory two years of military school before they can apply to university. That night Shif questions his mother about these events and learns the stunning news that his father is likely not dead. A university lecturer, he had requested that teachers be paid more and was taken away by the government. He was imprisoned in a camp with others who had also spoken out against the government. His mother doesn't know for sure if Shif's father is still alive but she remains hopeful.

Shif's mother also tells him that the military is doing an operation known as a giffa, rounding up those boys and girls they believe are trying to escape military school. Because Shif is the son of someone considered by the government to be a traitor, if he is caught in the giffa he will likely never be released from military school. It is likely that he will be sent to the gold mines. Both Shif and Bini's mothers  instead have planned for the boys to leave the country: they will leave in the morning with smugglers who will take them to the border and then north to the coast where they will take a boat to Europe. Shif's mother explains that he must learn her phone number as well as his Uncle Batha's number in case of emergency.

However, their plans are thwarted when, in the middle of the night, soldiers raid both boys' homes and drag Shif and Bini into the night and into the back of a waiting truck. Driven miles from home, into the desert and imprisoned in a metal shipping container with other political prisoners, Shif and Bini know their situation is dire. With the help of other prisoners, the two boys are given a second chance at life, a chance to escape and tell the world what is happening.

Discussion

Refugee 87 also published as Boy 87, is a riveting fictional account of one refugee's journey out of Eritrea to Europe. The title is taken from the name given to Shif when he is taken to a military prison by soldiers. Fountain, who is a British writer, lived for several years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at a time when the government enacted laws punishing those critical of the regime.

Fountain doesn't focus on the names of the countries in her novel, because she "...wanted the focus to be on his experience rather than the politics of one regime."  While this is understandable, it means there is less context to Shif's experience. Instead, Fountain is appealing to her young readers on an emotional level. Fountain does hint at some of the reasons life in this country might be dangerous; for example, the government imprisons those who speak out against it. Life goes on for Shif until he is targeted by the military.

Refugee 87 offers a good starting point to familiarize young readers with the refugee experience. But outside of the novel, the complex reasons why people leave their homes and families to undertake a dangerous journey need to be considered, even by young people. We don't see the mass migration of people from Europe to Yemen, Iran, Ethiopia or Syria because of the West's values that focus on justice, individual rights and because many countries in the West have democratic political systems. It would be helpful to encourage young people to think in a critical way as to why this is. What are the political, social and economic realities in these countries? Refugees generally don't want to leave their homelands with all the risks and loss that entails, so how can we in the West help them to stay and effect positive change in their own countries? What is the role of countries in the region? And for those who do want to leave, how might they be helped?

Nevertheless, Fountain's portrayal of the refugee experience seems realistic in the most tragic of ways. Through Shif's eyes, we experience many of the dangers refugees face on their journey toward safety and freedom. Shif himself endures cold and heat, starvation, and loneliness.  Clues in the story suggest that Shif has travelled from his home country of Eritrea (where injera is a main staple, where the women wear a white netela and the coinage is silver with the words Liberty, Equality, and Justice) into Sudan (where the women wear brightly coloured headscarfs and the coinage is gold around the edge and silver in the middle.) Later on in the story he also greets the mother and daughter with the phrase "Kemay hadirkin" which means "Good morning" in Tigrinya, a language spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea.  In this new country (likely Sudan which lies north of Eritrea),  Shif cannot speak the language and receives only the barest of help. He doesn't know anyone, that is until he meets a family from Eritrea, Shewit, her husband Mesfin and their daughter Almaz.

But if Shif and the other refugees thought they were safe in Sudan they quickly discover the opposite. There is a new danger the refugees now face: human trafficking. Shewit warns Shif that he mustn't go to the refugee camp to the south because human traffickers lie in wait outside the camp. Almaz tells him this is also the reason they do not wear their white netela: the white scarf marks them as refugees who can be targeted by traffickers. In this regard, Refugee 87 also portrays the special risks that women and young girls face. In the market, Almaz is grabbed by a man who intends to sell her. She is rescued by Shif but this now marks them as targets for the traffickers.

Refugees are also at risk of physical injury and death. Shif badly sprains his ankle during his escape from the prison. Genet, a older woman refugee was injured by shrapnel when a land mine exploded. Without proper medical care, her condition worsens. By the time Shif resumes his journey, Genet is likely dying from sepsis. On their journey to the coast, Shewit breaks her leg when the truck they are traveling in crashes. She and her husband Mesfin are left by the roadside along with many other injured refugees, likely to die. Shif and Almaz must now make the remainder of their journey without the support and protection of adults. Fountain also portrays the harrowing boat trip across the Mediterranean during which Shif and Almaz almost drown.

Refugee 87 will help young readers to empathize with the plight of refugees who often leave everything and everyone familiar to them behind for the hope of a new life. Shif briefly explains what this means to him. "Inside my head I carry the stories of what went before. Those stories are the threads that will tie me to my other life. I am still Shif. But from now on there will always be two parts to me."

Fountain's well-written, moving novel proves that writers write best about those topics dearest to their heart and it's obvious the plight of those in Ethiopia is important to her. Highly recommended.

Book Details:

Refugee 87 by Ele Fountain
New York: Little, Brown and Company      2018
247 pp.

All For One by Melissa De La Cruz

All For One is the third and final installment in Melissa de la Cruz's Alexander Hamilton trilogy. The novel opens in June of 1785, with Alex and Eliza, happily married, living for the past two years in a growing and bustling New York City.Alex is beginning to make a name for himself as a lawyer having won the Caroline Childress case. Caroline Childress was the widow of a British soldier who fought against the Continental troops in the War of Independence. Alex and Eliza are at the top of the New World social ladder in New York, especially with Eliza's family connections to the Van Rensselaers, Livingstons and others.

 Eliza and Alex meet her younger brother, seventeen-year-old John Schuyler who is arriving in New York to study at Columbia, formerly King's College. John who is nine years younger than Eliza is the only surviving son of the Schuylers and great things are expected of him. Other changes in their household include taking on a new footman. Simon, who is the son of their cook Rowena, has moved to the Beekman estate where he is working as a groom. To replace him, Eliza and Alex have taken on Rowena's nephew, Drayton Pennington, her sister Nigella's son.

Now well established in the home on Wall Street, Eliza and Alex are working on starting a family. However, after eight months of trying, there seems to be no baby on the horizon. Until Eliza begins complaining about Rowena's cooking and feeling unsettled in the morning. She soon realizes that she is pregnant after a dream in which her mother asks her to name the baby Philip after her father.

Their house sees two new additions; Drayton Pennington the new footman and Emma Trask, and the orphaned cousin of Prudence Schlesinger whom Eliza takes on as a maid.Soon Eliza finds herself wanting to match-make, specifically Emma with her brother John. To that end she decides to hold a party in honour of her two new house members, John and Emma.

Meanwhile Alex is retained by the Reverend Provoost of Trinity Church to find a way around the church's charter which limits Trinity to an income of five thousand pounds per annum, so that a new and larger church can be built. As he's working on the Trinity file, Alex's clerk, Nippers ushers in a woman named Maria Reynolds. When Alex learns that she is married, he feels he is safe from any sort of indiscretion. However, Alex could not be more wrong.

Discussion

All For One concludes the Alexander Hamilton trilogy which capitalized on the Hamilton musical craze that began a few years back. De La Cruz has taken her readers through the meeting of Eliza Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton in Eliza and Alex and through the very early years of their marriage in Love and War. In this novel, De La Cruz tackles Eliza's first pregnancy and Alex's entanglement with Maria Reynolds. De La Cruz plays with the timeline somewhat: Alex and Eliza's first son, Philip was born in 1782 and not 1785, and Alex's affair with Maria Reynolds occurred in 1791-92 when Eliza was pregnant with their son John Church Hamilton.

All For One weaves together the lives of Eliza and Alex through two storylines; the first involves Eliza and her efforts to get her orphanage off the ground while dealing with her pregnancy and two new members of her household, and the second involves Alex's work on the Trinity case as well as his relationship with Maria Reynolds.

In All For One, Eliza's primary focus seems to be playing match maker, reminiscent of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. Eliza insists that the new country not need to obey the Old World conventions of class and family status. To that end she attempts to match her brother John from her wealthy Schuyler family with the penniless, orphaned Emma Trask. Likewise Eliza suggests the ultra-wealthy Betty Van Renasselaer consider her handsome footman, Drayton Pennington. Although Eliza is in earnest, both Betty and John find her efforts comical and impractical. Eliza is convinced that the United States be different than "the hidebound ways of the Europeans." Eliza tells Betty and John, "...The rules came from the king down, and each step on the rung was clearly demarcated. Their roles restricted them, but it also gave them a sense of identity. Our generation is much more open to possibility. We can choose our own roles. We are not bound by expectations of family or class,...in the United States, one is free to fall in love with a gentleman as well as with a footman."

It is while visiting the Van Cortlandts that Eliza, like Austen's Emma realizes she has it all wrong. At a ball at the Beekman estate, James Beekman points out to Eliza that it is Emma and Drayton who are wooing one another, while Jane Beekman suggests to Eliza the following morning that in fact Betty and John appear to be "taken" with one another. These revelations stun Eliza who feels betrayed since her intention was to improve both Emma and Drayton's "stations" in life! When confronted later on, Emma tells Eliza "...You like to pretend that America is a classless society, and while that may be true in Mr. Hamilton's speeches and essays, in real life the world is still very much divided by how much money one has, and for how long. There are still rich and poor, and the former still have very strong ideas about the latter's place." Emma tells Eliza that "a snob like the wealthy Betty Van Renasselaer is easier to deal with. And at least she is honest about her place in the world and has a sense of humor about it as well."

The second storyline deals with Alexander Hamilton and his efforts on behalf of Trinity Church as well as his relationship with Maria Reynolds. It was interesting to see how De La Cruz approached the events surrounding Alexander Hamilton's affair with Maria Reynolds. Hamilton is portrayed as being willfully blind towards Maria Reynolds,  convinced that her story about being ill-treated by her husband is true. Hamilton's trusted detective Miguel de La Vera uncovers evidence that suggests that Maria Reynolds is really Maria Lewis who has never married James Reynold and that the latter "uses women to swindle married men. Honest married men...". He warns Hamilton that she may be part of a effort to entrap and blackmail him. Instead, Hamilton decides, "No...She was a woman alone in the world, a woman in a position not unlike the one his mother had found herself in - and his mother was innocent and deserved a better life. So did Maria Reynolds. She deserved his trust, and if he were honest, he was lonely." And so instead of dropping her as his client,  he goes to visit her.

While Eliza is visiting the Van Cortlandt's to secure a donation for her orphanage, she becomes seriously ill and spends a month at their home recuperating, leaving Alex alone. It is during her absence that Hamilton's affair begins with Maria Reynolds. In All For One, De La Cruz  suggests that Alex forms a bond with Maria because they had similar life experiences. "She knew the world as it was, like he did, the cruelty and the coarseness, she knew abandonment an deceit and hunger and survival, just as he did. They were alike in a way that Eliza would never understand."

Alex is able to tell Maria about his past in a way he could never manage with Eliza. "Alex told her the full story of his early years in St. Croix and Nevis. All the things he had never told Eliza, for fear that she would reject him for being too common...Maybe it was because Eliza, for all her independence and empathy, was still a woman of her class, a little too inclined to think of the poor as projects rather than real people, as evidenced by her meddling in the love lives of Emma Trask and Drayton Pennington, or maybe it was because he had never shared this part of his past with her..."  It is this connection that seemingly leads him to commit adultery with Reynolds.

But it is Eliza who is the star in this re-telling of the Alexander Hamilton saga: she races from her sickbed to save her husband from possible death after learning of his infidelity and his impending duel with rival Aaron Burr (a duel that in real life did not occur at this time). And against all reason, she forgives him, saving her marriage, although her husband's reputation is ruined. Eliza explains, "Either she truly forgave her husband or she didn't. If she didn't, then there was no point in continuing the marriage. And if she did, then she must do it fully. She must remember the man she had married, and why she had married him." In the 1700's it is probable that the prospect of divorce was far worse than a husband's infidelity. Or perhaps Eliza Schuyler Hamilton was truly a remarkable woman.

All For One is the finale in De La Cruz's trilogy. At close to four hundred pages, All For One sometimes gets bogged down in extraneous detail that perhaps could have been edited out or at least pared down. For example there are detailed passages about what life was like in New York in 1776 and how it has changed in the last nine years. There are several pages explaining the situation with the Trinity church  that Alex is retained to sort out. While some of these details are interesting, they tend to distract from the overall storyline.

Nevertheless, fans of Hamilton will enjoy this final installment with all its heartbreak and betrayal as well as the post-colonial detail of life in the newly founded United States of America.

Book Details:

All For One by Melissa De La Cruz
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons      2019
386 pp.

The Bug Girl: Maria Merian's Scientific Vision by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Maria Merian was born in 1647 to Matthaeus Merian and Johanna Sibylla Heim in Frankfurt, Germany. Matthaeus was a famous engraver who passed his exceptional talent onto Maria and her two older brothers Matthaeus Jr. and Caspar. Maria's father died when she was only three years old. Her mother remarried, to a painter named Jacob Marrel who taught Maria how to paint in watercolours.She did not learn to paint with oils because many Germany cities forbade women from selling oil paintings.

Maria married Johann Andreas Graff in 1665 and three years later gave birth to a daughter, Johanna Helena in 1668. That year they moved to Nurnberg, Graff's hometown. Maria spent time painting watercolours of flowers but during her painting of plants she began to observe the various insects on and around them. Her observations were captured in beautiful paintings which were also very accurate. Another daughter, Dorothea Maria in 1678.

In The Bug Girl, Merian is portrayed as a young girl who was deeply interested in the world around her. She observed the natural world, especially the plants, and insects that crawled and flew. Marsh explains that during this time the average person was very superstitious about the world around them. Very little was known about how insects came to be. It was widely believed that "creatures such as butterflies, moths, and frogs were born from mud puddles in a process known as 'spontaneous generation.' " Because of the belief that anyone interested in these creatures was likely evil,  Maria had to study them secretly, trying not to attract anyone's notice.

To understand how caterpillars came into existence, Maria studied silk worms which were the easiest to find. When the eggs hatched she learned by trial and error that they liked to eat mulberry leaves.She also learned that the silkworm caterpillars grew large enough, they formed cocoons which eventually opened to reveal beautiful white moths. Her work confirmed the conclusions Francesco Redi had reached in 1668, that spontaneous generation did not exist. Instead they went through a process now called metamorphosis.

Maria continued to observe and paint and also to teach other girls how to do the same. Eventually she and her daughter, Dorothea traveled to Suriname in South America on a scientific expedition. On this journey, at the age of fifty-two,  she would observe and paint many unusual insects. Maria was forced to leave Suriname after two years, due to ill health but she did publish a book of her observations that was well received. Maria passed away in 1717, leaving a legacy that has been rediscovered three hundred years later.

Discussion

Sphinx moth, Maria Merian

The Bug Girl brings to life the remarkable story of Maria Merian, a woman who broke the conventions of her time to observe and record the natural world around her. In the process Maria's work helped to dispel some of the superstitions common in the 1600's and contributed significantly to the field of biology. A unique feature of her beautiful, detailed paintings is that they featured insects in their natural habitat, portraying the plants and flowers that were key to their life cycles.  Her many paintings were published in various books including Blumenbach (Book of Flowers) in three parts, Neues Blumenbach (New Book of Flowers) which was published in 1680, Der Raupen (The Caterpillar) which was a book about the life cycle of the caterpillar, part I published in 1679 and a second book published in 1683.

Her work from Suriname was published in a book titled Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium which was available both in colour and uncoloured. Despite the fact that she was a woman, her book was much sought after. Many of the plates of her illustrations were purchased by Peter the Great and now reside in St. Petersburg. In 2017, the 300th anniversary of her death in 1717, Merian's book on Suriname was republished, containing many plates of her art. Marsh has reproduced some in the front and back of her picture book.

Maria Merian's careful observations of insects, sometimes done overnight, meant that she captured aspects of the life cycle of insects that were not well known in the 17th century and early 18th century.  She recorded the life cycles of one hundred and eighty-six insects! Maria's focus was mainly on insects, although she also studied frogs, amphibians and reptiles.

While Marsh's text captures the essence of Maria Merian's contributions, the illustrations leave much to be desired, especially considering the beautiful detail of Maria's own paintings.  More attractive illustrations would like capture the readers interest and make this picture book biography more appealing.

image credit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/science/maria-sibylla-merian-metamorphosis-insectorum-surinamensium.html



Book Details:

The Bug Girl: Maria Merian's Scientific Vision by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Chicago: Albert Whitman & Company       2019

Marti's Song for Freedom by Emma Otheguy

Marti's Song for Freedom is a dual language picture book (English/Spanish) about Cuban patriot, Jose Julian Marti y Perez who worked towards Cuban independence from Spain.

In this picture book, Jose was a young boy who loved  the countryside of his country Cuba. However, Jose was disturbed when he saw people enslaved by the wealthy land owners. These people worked cutting the sugar cane in the fields.

Jose had learned about the Civil War in the United States which ended slavery in that country. He knew the people enslaved in his own country should be free too and he wanted to abolish slavery in Cuba. However, Cuba was ruled by Spain and the Cuban people were not allowed to be a part of the government so they had no say in how their island was run.

In 1868, Cubans began fighting Spain for independence and to gain control over their country. Jose was too young to fight so he used words, in the form of pamphlets that he handed out. For this he was taken away to jail and sentenced to forced labour in a quarry.  Eventually he was freed but on the condition that he leave Cuba. But Jose Marti would never stop fighting to free his beloved Cuba.

Discussion
 
Emma Otheguy's picture book, Marti's Song For Freedom portrays the life of Jose Marti, an important human rights activist and Latin American intellectual. Marti was born in 1853 in Havana, Cuba, to Mariano Marti Navarro and Lenoro Perez Carbrera. He was the eldest of eight children, having seven younger sisters. When Marti was twelve-years-old, he attended Escuela de Instruccion Primaria Superior Municipal de Verones which was run by Rafael Maria de Mendive who would become an important influence and mentor. His best friend was Fermin Valdes Dominguez, whose family owned slaves.

Marti enrolled in several schools but in 1867 he was studying at the San Pedro school for his undergraduate degree.  What would become The Ten Years War, a decade long struggle for Cuban independence, resulted in the formation of many groups supporting the war. Marti became a strong supporter not just of Cuban independence but also of the emancipation of of slaves. He expressed his views in poems, some of which were widely published. In 1869 when he was only sixteen years old he was arrested for his political involvement in the war against Spain.

Deported to Spain, Marti earned an M.A. and a law degree from the University of Zaragoza in 1874. He continued to be politically active, publishing many political essays. He returned to Cuba in 1878 but was once again exiled back to Spain.Marti travelled to many different countries including Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States and Venezuela. In 1891 he wrote Versos Sencillos (Simple Verses) which is quoted throughout Marti's Song For Freedom.

Marti continued to grow more and more politically active and eventually began organizing an armed Cuban revolution to gain the country's independence. He returned to Cuba in 1895 and died in the Battle of Dos Rios leading a two man charge into battle when others had withdrawn. Cuba eventually gained independence in 1898.

Marti's Song for Freedom is Otheguy's debut picture book. Written in verse, in both English and Spanish, Otheguy crafts a fascinating portrait of Marti who is considered Cuba's first most patriot and poet. Otheguy presents Marti as a person sensitive at a young age to the plight of the Cuban people who were forced by the Spanish to work as slaves on their own land.  But while living in New York,  he also saw in Americans a blindness to the less fortunate, the poor and the homeless that surrounded them. His time in the Catskill Mountains brought him back in touch with nature and its beauty that he so loved.Otheguy's biography is enhanced by the colourful artwork of illustrator Beatriz Vidal who incorporates many symbols onto the pages containing text. For example, the verses telling about Marti sent to jail as a young teen feature a caged bird, and when he returns to Cuba one last time, Otheguy quotes a verse from Marti's poetry and an eagle is featured as a symbol of freedom and power.

Otheguy's verses are complemented with a few chosen verses from Marti's Versos Sencillos giving readers a sense of Marti's passion, his love for Cuba and the island's people, his appreciation of nature and his expressive poetry. At the back of the picture book Otheguy includes an Afterword which provides detailed information on Jose Marti's life as well as a Selected Bibliography. Lavishly illustrated with short verse, Marti's Song For Freedom is an excellent resource for young readers to learn about some of the history of Cuba, and to discuss the themes of equality, national independence and the right of people to govern themselves.

Book Details:

Marti's Song For Freedom by Emma Otheguy
New York: Children's Book Press        2017

Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell

Sweetgrass Basket is a heartrending story of two Mohawk sisters sent to a residential school by their parents with the belief that this is best for them. Instead the sisters discover an institution focused not so much on educating them as in destroying their heritage.

Matilda (Mattie) Tarbell and her younger sister, twelve-year-old Sarah  are sent by train to a school in Carlisle for Indian children. When Mattie was unhappy about this her father told her, "You must go to school.
Life will be better for you.
It is for the best."
Their brothers and sisters were sent to other schools, some closer to home, others further away.

They are met at the train station by Mr. Davis whom Sarah describes as "the blackest man I have ever seen...". There are four other children besides Mattie and Sarah who ride with them in "the strangest, strangest thing on wheels."

Although Mr. Davis assures them they will be fine and will like the school, Mattie and Sarah immediately experience harsh treatment at the hands of Mrs. Dwyer who runs the school. Dressed all in black, with "eyes that look like tiny chunks of coal set into a snowbank muddied by a January thaw." Mrs. Dwyer immediately makes both Mattie and Sarah fear her.  A woman who has a severe and unfriendly face and who constantly taps a ruler in her hand, Mrs. Dwyer elicits fear is almost all the students.

Mattie states the first thing they learn how to do is march, which they do whenever they go anywhere in the school. Mattie is able to read and speak English and her writing is deemed beautiful by Miss Weston, a kind teacher who becomes Mattie's favourite. Although Miss Weston loves Mattie's essay about the sweetgrass baskets her mother used to make, Mrs. Dwyer refuses to allow it to be printed in the school's paper.

While Sarah struggles to adjust, Mattie finds a friend in Gracie Powless from the Onondaga. Their days are filled with work and lessons. The girls are taught by Miss Prentiss how to use a sewing machine: Mattie excels at mending, a skill her mother taught her. Miss Prentiss decides that she will have her do finer work. Meanwhile, Sarah works in the laundry under the tutelage of the kindly Miss Velma. But when Sarah is allowed to rest outside after the heat causes her to collapse in the laundry, she is scolded by Mrs. Dwyer and Miss Velma is sent away.

When Mattie is accused of stealing Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, a chain of events is set in motion that will lead to tragedy and a heartbreaking loss for Sarah.

Discussion

Sweetgrass Basket is a much needed novel about the experiences of Native Americans who were sent away from the their families to residential schools to be "educated". Carvell provides an Author's Note at the very beginning of the novel in which she explains that The Carlisle Indian Industrial School did in fact exist from 1879 to 1918. Located in southern Pennsylvania, it was the first off-reservation school for Native Americans in the United States. Children from many different tribes attended the school, among them children from the Mohawk nation. The author's husband's great-aunt Margaret attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the early 1900's and this novel is based on her experiences.

Set in the early 1900's, Sweetgrass Basket is told from the perspective of two fictional Mohawk sisters, Mattie and Sarah Tarbell, using free verse. In some instances, events are described by both sisters, at other times, their alternating voices carry on the story. Both Mattie and Sarah do not want to attend the school but do so in obedience to their father. However, instead of being treated with dignity and compassion, with understanding and kindness, the young Indian girls are subjected to physical abuse and in some cases even neglect. The Indian children, in a strange environment far from home, find themselves at the mercy of the school matron, Mrs. Dwyer, a dour, cold woman dressed in black.  It soon becomes apparent that the focus of the school is not just to educate them but to wipe out the practice of their own culture and replace it with the ways of the white people.

In the Carlisle school, the children are given new names that are different from the names given to them by their parents. Unlike the other students, Mattie and Sarah both have English names, but they also have Mohawk names. Their father advised them to tell only their English names which they obey.
"He said our Mohawk names are special,
and we should keep them for special times."

The words written above the chalkboard in the classroom, "Labor conquers all things." are eerily similar to the words, "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work sets you free" that will be placed on the gate at Auschwitz 1 years later in Nazi-occupied Poland. The girls are told by Mrs. Dwyer,
"...if we work hard,
we will be as good as white people.
She says this is our chance to prove
we are as good as white people."
Sarah and Mattie and the other Indian girls are made to feel inferior, less than white people.

They are not allowed to bring anything from home that might remind them of their culture. However,  Sarah and Mattie keep the memory of their home alive in their minds, remembering life at home with their parents and their siblings. In secret, they use Mohawk words to describe their world, reminding each other of their heritage. For example, Sarah reminds her sister that as Mohawks they are Keepers of the Eastern Door. Mattie states,
"She said I must always remember that we
the KANIEN'KEHAKA, the Mohawk people,
are Keepers of the Eastern Door,
and that long  ago it was through us
that people were allowed to travel the lands
of the HAUDENOSAUNEE, the Iroquois;
that we allowed all to pass through our lands,
as long as we knew they traveled in peace."

The title of the novel is a reference to the sweetgrass basket that belongs to Mattie. Although they were told not to bring anything from home, Sarah brings a scarf that their mother made for her and Mattie's sweetgrass basket. Mattie had wanted to bring the basket but their father had told her not to bring it. Having "...heard the tears in her heart." Sarah decided to pack the sweetgrass basket with her. When she reveals it to Mattie one day at school, she feels she has lifted the sadness from her sister's heart. After showing her best friend Gracie, Mattie hides the basket in her bottom drawer. It will be a special basket where she and Sarah will keep their womanly thoughts.

The basket becomes a metaphor for Mattie and Sarah's Indian culture. After being accused of stealing Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, Mattie's basket goes missing from her drawer. She is unable to discover who took the basket. After Mattie is accused by Mrs. Dwyer of stealing her brooch and runs away, the basket ends up in the possession of Mrs. Dwyer, who calls Sarah into her office to question her about it.  In a move symbolic of what she stands for - the destruction of Indian culture, Mrs. Dwyer crushes Mattie's sweetgrass basket in the presence of Sarah.

"But as I lift my arms to take it from her,
she pushes her hands together in one sharp
movement, and Mattie's beautiful basket
made from our mother's love
is turned instantly into a misshapen mass
that now looks oddle like a small winter squash
flattened on one side from where it grew....

Mrs Dwyer takes two steps to her right
and drops the object of her scorn
into the waste bin that sits beside a wooden chair..."
The message is clear, the Indian culture has nothing redeemable about it, it is something to be jettisoned in favour of the white man's culture.

Although there is heart-breaking tragedy in the novel, Carvell does leave her young readers with a sense of hope. At the very end, Sarah is given Mattie's basket, saved from the garbage by the kindly Mr. Davis who enigmatically tells Sarah he has fixed her bottom drawer. Puzzled, she checks the drawer:
"There, tucked in among my nightclothes,
there under the scarf my mother made with love for me,
was Mattie's gift from her.

Mattie's beautiful basket.

Mattie's beautiful sweetgrass basket."

The return of the basket signifies hope for the future that their way of life can and will be preserved.

In a delicious twist near the end of the novel, it is Sarah who finds Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, but convinced she will never be believed, she disposes of it. Had Mrs. Dwyer been more understanding, the brooch she cared so much for, might have been returned to her.

Sweetgrass Basket is a well written novel that is both timely and overdue. Carvell's simple poetry is deeply moving, allowing readers to experience the pain, the sense of loss and the anger Mattie and Sarah experience as young Indian Americans who have been suddenly separated from their family and their way of life. Those who read this novel with sensitivity will weep at the fate of Mattie, at the lack of care for these young girls and at the lack of understanding of their way of life. Although we cannot change the past, through novels like Sweetgrass Basket  which explore the Native American experience in residential schools, we can remember it, learn from it and change the future.

Book Details:

Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
New York: Dutton Children's Books    2005
243 pp.

DVD: Apollo 11

"...We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too....
But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun--almost as hot as it is here today--and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold."

President John F. Kennedy's speech at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962

In 1962, Kennedy committed the United States of America to landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960's.  On July 16, 1969 at 9:32 a.m., Apollo 11, the mission to accomplish that feat, was launched into space via a Saturn V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida. Aboard were Commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Command module pilot Michael Collins. Four days later, on July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon and spent over two hours walking on its surface, while Collins orbited in the command module.

The documentary,  Apollo 11 follows the mission just prior to launch until splash-down on July 24, 1969 in the Pacific Ocean just west of Hawaii.  Apollo 11 is unique in that it relies on archival footage of the mission, from inside Mission Control, to camera footage shot by the astronauts themselves. NASA also located thousands of hours of uncatalogued audio from Mission Control.  This was combined with the archival footage to create a film that followed a timeline from the point of the Saturn V rocket being wheeled to the launchpad to the splashdown, quarantine, and the conclusion of the voyage.  In addition, director Todd Douglas Miller forgoes interviews and narration, instead choosing to chronicle the historic voyage giving viewers a unique insider perspective of the entire voyage.

Apollo 11 presents viewers with some of the most beautiful clear images of the moon landing, of the lunar module in space and of the docking of the lunar and command modules. There are many images of Buzz Aldrin and not so many of Neil Armstrong who held the camera most of the time while on the moon's surface.

To help viewers understand some of the more technical aspects of the voyage, animation of the orbital path around the Earth, the various burns to orient the spacecraft a certain way, the orbital path around the Moon and the separation and docking of the lunar module with the command module were created. An animation of the re-entry path was also created. Other interesting features include a few recordings of the physical condition of the astronauts during the launch and during the descent to the moon's surface. Interestingly during the launch Armstrong's heart rate was 110, while Buzz Aldrin's was a mere 88.

For those old enough to remember watching the launch and who followed Apollo 11 throughout its mission, the film brings back so many memories and emotions; excitement and awe, along with the ever-present fear that something might go seriously wrong. Indeed, the film especially captures the moments of anxiety the various teams at Mission Control experienced. Their relief was palpable for example when communication was re-established every time the command module re-appeared on the side of the moon facing Earth or during the nine minutes of blackout during re-entry at the end of the voyage. And no film about any event in this era would be complete without the voice of Walter Cronkite Jr., news anchor for CBS Nightly News who brought it all to millions of people back on Earth.

For those for whom the voyage of Apollo 11 was merely an event in history, this documentary is very much recommended. It might not have the thrills of modern movies and documentaries, but the complexity of the mission, the enormous number of people involved,  the risks undertaken and the courage to do so, and the fact that for the first time in history man stepped onto another world far from Earth, make Apollo 11 an important record of that accomplishment.

image credit:  https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/hires/a11_h_40_5949.gif

A Grain of Rice by Nhung N. Tran-Davies

A Grain of Rice opens with a horrific storm that floods the Mekong River next to their home in Vinh My, a village on the river, where thirteen-year-old Yen, her mother Huong, younger sister Tien, and their adopted brother Quang live. As the water floods into their home, Yen races to grab Tien, while her Ma searches for Quang. The family shelters in the loft of their home, waiting for the storm to abate.

The next morning, when Ma is not home, Yen goes in search of her, but encounters their neighbours Co Sau and Cau Sau who lament that they have lost everything. Yen's Ma arrives at Bac Minh's home carrying a dead child, Trinh who was also a neighbour, but cannot find Trinh's brother and sister.  Yen is devastated by the death of Trinh: only a few days earlier she was playing with him and his brothers and his sister Mai. Trinh's parents were away at the markets downriver when the flooding happened. They will return to find their entire family gone.

That night Yen mentions to her mother that they should go find Ba in Ca Mau but her mother refuses, telling Yen they don't need him. Ba had been taken away by the southern soldiers prior to the fall of Saigon. After he was returned, when Yen was ten-years-old and Tien was not quite a year old, Ma left Ba, taking her family to the Mekong Delta.

Later that night Yen's two older siblings, her brother Lam and her sister Muoi return home from Saigon where they attend high school. Toa Cu who is a teacher but also owns a crayon factory, pays for their school tuition. They bring home a notebook for Yen and crayons for Quang. As the family talks about their journey home, Muoi indicates that Toa Cu has indicated that their family should "escape" with him. Yen is not quite sure as to what they are referring.

Ma decides that she needs to travel downriver to Ca Mau for supplies. This trip puzzles Yen. "We hadn't been back to Ca Mau since we stole away three years ago, just months before giai phong. Ma had not even mentioned Ca Mau since then. What had changed? It was unusual for her to choose Ca Mau when there were other closer markets, although they were smaller."

On the trip down the Mekong with Ma, when Yen questions her mother about travelling to Ca Mau, her mother will only tell that it is for business. In Ca Mau, after being accosted by a government soldier, Yen and her mother set up a spot to sell their crabs and bananas in the market. They are shocked to see Co Sau begging for food, which they offer her. She tells them that they came to Ca Mau looking for an old friend but the friend and his family have disappeared. While Ma takes Co Sau to someone who can help them, Yen decides to wander off to find her father. She remembers how he was taken away by the soldiers from the south for being an informant for the Viet Cong and kept for two years and beaten.

When she finds her father, she tells him that Ma and Muoi are planning to escape, although she doesn't quite understand what this means. Yen asks her father to help them so that Ma will stay, but he is not sympathetic. Yen is shocked to see that her Ba has a wife and small child. Furious she runs out and returns to the market, only to find her mother and their items are gone.

Yen finds her mother in the temple, making offerings to Buddha. Yen has already been robbed by a one-legged beggar, and now they are confronted by the same officer who gave them trouble when they arrived in Ca Mau. But this time they are lucky as a stranger wearing a jade pendant intervenes.

Before they leave Ca Mau, Ma and Yen visit a friend, Co Thanh who runs a fabric store. Co Thanh's husband has been gone for the past three years, taken to a labour camp to be "re-educated". She seems to indicate that her son is dead but also that he only has hope if he leaves the country. While Yen is confused her Ma seems to understand.

Back home, Ma begins to prepare for their journey that will lead them to escape the country. Yen is frustrated because no one will tell her anything. But when Bac Minh arrives one night warning them they must leave at once because soldiers are looking for them, Yen must find the courage to make the long and dangerous journey, leaving behind the country she loves for an unknown future.

Discussion

The events described in A Grain of Rice are loosely based on the experiences of Tran-Davies' family when she lived in Vietnam and then fled after the war. Five-year-old Nhung, her mother and five siblings were sponsored to come to Canada in 1979, after fleeing their homeland by boat to Malaysia. Vietnamese who fled by sea in rickety boats came to be known as the "boat people".  Many lost their lives on the journey, others were attacked and robbed or worse by sea pirates. Today Nhung Tran-Davies is a physician who lives with her family just outside of Edmonton, Alberta.

In A Grain of Rice, a young girl flees Vietnam with her family to escape the worsening oppression and living conditions in the country just a few years after the end of the Vietnam War. It is  an interesting story that provides young readers with a sense of what life was like in the years immediately following the end of war in Vietnam. The country, previously divided into the communist North and the democratic South was now reunited and ruled by a Communist government. 

In A Grain of Rice, young readers will learn that the Vietnamese people continued to suffer long after the war ended. The repressive Communist government began punishing South Vietnamese civilian and military officials, sending them to re-education camps. Many never returned. Nguoi hoa or ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam and who considered themselves Vietnamese were particularly targeted, losing their businesses and property. With worsening economic conditions and widespread corruption and human rights abuses, millions fled the country. These refugees fled by boat into the South China sea where they faced drowning, dehydration, attacks by pirates, rape and murder. Many were picked up from rickety vessels and brought to the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong where they spent months and years in refugee camps. At the time, the Vietnamese refugees were referred to as "boat people"  which some consider a racist term today.

The Tran family

The story in A Grain of Rice is based on Tran-Davies experience as a refugee from Vietnam.  Tran-Davies was born in December of 1973, just over a year before Saigon was overrun by the Viet Cong. Her father died during the war leaving her mother a widow with five children. To support her family, they moved to a small village where her mother worked as a seamstress. But they experienced famine and flooding, the latter meaning they had to live in the loft of their home, as Yen does in the novel. Life was so difficult, the future so dismal, that her mother decided to risk everything for a better life. 

Tran-Davies and her family were lucky, they survived the trip and ended up in a refugee camp in Malaysia. After eight months in the camp, Tran-Davies' mother's prayers were answered and they were sponsored by Canadians from Alberta. Tran-Davies was five years old when she arrived in Canada. Today Dr. Tran-Davies is a physician in Calmar, Alberta where she shares a family practice with her husband Dr. Grant Davies.

In A Grain of Rice, Yen and her family are nguoi hoa or ethnic Chinese and are not treated well. Yen's experiences reflect the corruption and fear that the Vietnamese people experienced daily under the Communist regime. When they first arrive in Ca Mau, Yen and Ma are accosted by officials who show disdain that they are nguoi hoa and force Ma into giving them money. Yen remembers a time years earlier when they had been stopped by uniformed officials on the river. "They had used their badges to stop us, then confiscated all our merchandise."  In the market at Ca Mau with Ma, they are warned when a "yellow-uniformed official" approaches. "Police officers. They're in cahoots with the northern army. They take everything from us and send it to their friends and families..." When they visit the fabric store run by Ma's friend, Thanh, Yen immediately notices how much has changed. "I could see that the walls, once lined with rolls and rolls of fabric coils in every colour, texture and pattern, were now virtually barren. No silk or satin. Only brown, white or black polyester and cotton."

Tran-Davies manages to capture all the terror and tragedy that Yen and her family and the other refugee's experience as they attempt to flee their country. Before they leave, Yen discovers Co Sau's body on the beach after the previous night's boat sank. Terrified and fully aware of the danger she faces, Yen refuses to leave. On their own journey they deal with rain, a violent sea, sea-sickness and long days trapped in the reeking hold of the boat. Their boat is attacked by pirates who rob them, murder several men and rape some of the young girls. Their boat sinks when the Malaysian Coast Guard arrives, not to rescue them, but to tow them out to sea. Yen's life and death struggle to survive the sinking fortunately ends well. And although the novel has a somewhat happy ending, readers will be left with many questions. What has become of Lam and Muoi? What will happen to Yen and her family in Malaysia?

A Grain of Rice is well written and will give younger readers a sense of what some refugees experience as they search for a place to live in freedom and safety. Novels such as these help create empathy for those less fortunate and provide an opportunity for younger readers to learn about other cultures, other countries and systems of government which do not offer citizens the freedoms that we enjoy in Canada. They also evoke empathy for the plight of refugees, who generally do not want to leave behind their lives and families, but for whom there is little choice left.

image credit: https://mcccanada.ca/stories/journey-refugee-sponsorship-nhung-tran-davies

Book Details:

A Grain of Rice by Nhung N. Tran-Davies
Vancouver: Tradewind Books    2018
167 pp.

Path To The Stars: My Journey From Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo

Sylvia Acevedo is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She is also an accomplished engineer and businesswoman. In Path To The Stars, Sylvia tells her own story about growing up in New Mexico during the social changes of the 1960's and how she found her own path to the stars.

Sylvia was born in South Dakota while her father was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Her father's family was from Mexico but he had grown up in Texas and spoke fluent English. Her mother grew up in Parral, Mexico, in the the state of Chihuahua and could not speak English. For Sylvia's Mami, life with two small children in a strange country was lonely and very different.

When Sylvia's father was discharged from the army, her family moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico.There they moved in with her father's older sister, Tia Alma and her family. The home was crowded but filled with children to play with. Sylvia's father found work at New Mexico State University as a chemist in the physical science labs. Sylvia's mother, who had a sixth grade education, stayed at home to look after the children but also worked cleaning homes in El Paso, Texas.  Eventually Sylvia's family moved to another house on Solano Street. Her aunt, her mother's younger sister, Tia Angelica came to stay with them because her mother was expecting a baby. Soon, Sylvia's younger sister, Laura was born.

Shortly after Laura's birth, Sylvia's father was fired from his job because he did not take his work seriously and often made mistakes. He found a new job at the White Sands Missile Range as an analytical chemist, a job he took much more seriously.  The family moved again, this time to Griggs Street. In Las Cruces, Sylvia's Mami loved the close knit community and knew many of the families.

When Mario was six-years-old and Sylvia was four-years-old, they began taking lessons from Hermana Amelia Diaz who taught them English. Sylvia's Mami wanted them to be able to understand the language before they began attending Bradley Elementary School. Sylvia learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and learned to read in English but not Spanish.

Sadly, tragedy struck when Sylvia's younger sister Laura was only nineteen months old. She contracted meningitis and was hospitalized for months. Laura survived the illness and eventually returned home, but much changed. She had been a boisterous, happy child who chattered, but now she was quiet, withdrawn into her own world. Initially her vision had been affected by the meningitis, and she was unresponsive, unable to walk or talk. Although she would mostly recover, Laura's illness changed Sylvia's family in many ways. Her father stopped going to church, her mother decided to learn how to drive, reasoning that if she had been able to, they might have gotten Laura medical treatment sooner. Her mother also decided that they needed to move away from their poor neighborhood where the streets weren't paved, the houses close together with feral dogs wandering around.

Before attending Grade One at Bradley Elementary School in the fall, Sylvia was enrolled in the Head Start program, despite many neighbors being wary of the government program. However, Sylvia flourished in the program, learning to read books, and becoming a confident speaker to her classmates.

Sylvia's family moved again, this time across town to a house on Kay Lane in a neighborhood where everyone spoke English and there were few Mexicans. This move meant attending a new school, Alameda Elementary School where Sylvia found it difficult to fit in. Initially she was placed in the remedial grade two class, which shocked Sylvia even though she quickly moved out of the class. Sylvia found it difficult to make friends, feeling sad and fearful, afraid she would be moved back in class if she gave the wrong answer.  One aspect of attending school at Alameda was that Sylvia was not the only girl who played on the swings and monkey bars.

But Sylvia's life was about the take a very different path because of one classmate who reached out to her. One day after school, Sylvia was invited by a classmate, Sylvia Black to attend Brownies, a part of Girl Guides for younger girls. With her mother's permission, Sylvia accompanied her classmate to Brownies. For Sylvia, Brownies offered her hope from the very first meeting. When she was quickly and firmly corrected on how to safely pass scissors, Sylvia was so impressed that she decided she really wants to be a part of Brownies. The skills and attitude towards life, she would learn in Brownies and later on in Girl Guides would stay with Sylvia and help guide her towards the goals and life she envisioned for herself. Ultimately, these skills would help her reach for the stars and further than she could have ever foreseen.

Discussion

Path To The Stars chronicles Sylvia Acevedo's journey from a young girl uncertain about her future but determined to have "adventures" to an industrial engineer at NASA. After graduating from the University of New Mexico with a degree in industrial engineering, Acevedo worked as an engineer for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Projects she participated in included the Solar Polar Solar Probe and the Voyager 2 flyby mission to Jupiter.  Voyager is still operational as of this post! Eventually Sylvia went on to obtain her Masters in Systems Engineering from Stanford, one of the first Hispanic-Americans to do so.

While doing an interview about Stanford in the mid-2000's, Acevedo remembered how her Girl Scout experience positively impacted her life, giving her the skills and confidence to succeed. Acevedo came full circle when she was nominated to serve on the national board of the Girl Scouts.

Path To The Stars portrays Sylvia as an intelligent, determined, resourceful child who grew into a confident young adult. The first signs of her determination and resourcefulness are shown when Sylvia is determined to save for her first library card. Although her older brother Mario did not have to save money for a library card, Sylvia did. Instead of buying treats with the leftover change from errands, Sylvia would save the change. She eventually saved more than eight dollars. When she was placed in the remedial class for second grade, she writes, "...By the end of my first day, I'd made up my mind that I would not stay the worst student in the worst second-grade class. I didn't know how I'd do it, but I'd find a way to move up." She did just that with her strong reading skills.

Joining Brownies had a profoundly positive influence on Sylvia's life. At her first meeting she learned two things. The people in Brownies, "...care about how to do things correctly and safely, and they wanted to teach me these things too. And, I realized, that meant they cared about me...Brownies could tell me how to do things the right way." Her sister Laura's illness had made Sylvia feel as though she had no control over events in her life. Brownies offered Sylvia that possibility.

From her Brownies experience of selling cookies to raise money for a camping trip taught Sylvia "how to plan and save for the future." This was an important lesson for her because her family's precarious financial situation meant that unanticipated expenses often caught her parents by surprise. "Selling cookies completely changed the way I thought about my life. I had learned invaluable skills: how to sell and how to create opportunity for my Girl Scout troop -- and for me. I could create possibilities for myself. That gave me confidence and the courage to dream big dreams."

Earning badges in Brownies gave Sylvia the courage to learn how to bowl."Because of the badges, I knew that I could teach myself to fulfill a goal and work as a member of a team. "  Brownies also opened up to Sylvia the path she would choose later on as a young adult. Her Brownie leader, Mrs. Beeman noticed Sylvia's love of the stars and suggested to her that work on the Observer badge from the older Cadette Girl Scouts. Resourceful and determined, Sylvia sent away for a rocket kit and with the help of older brother Mario, launched her rocket. Her cooking badge taught her that she could do science.

"At the end of my time in Junior Girl Scouts, I loved the way my sash looked, with its rows of colorful badges. I was proud of what the badges represented, each one showing that I'd mastered a new skill. Every badge reminded me of the community to which I belonged.... Whether those skills belonged in the kitchen or to the outdoors, we were all gaining confidence in our own abilities."

As a young teen, Sylvia began to understand that her parents were not good planners and often weren't prepared for emergencies. After several serious incidents which placed Sylvia and her family in either life threatening or serious situations, she came to the realization that she would have to be the "one who did the planning ahead for my family...Over and over in Girl Scouts, I had learned that planning ahead and doing things properly could help you get what you wanted."

Sylvia grew into a teenager who knew what she wanted. In Junior High School she signed up for a free class on car maintenance and learned how to change the oil, something she did for her family on a regular basis after that. Once again life lessons learned in Girl Scouts were the driving force. "It was just as the Girl Scouts had taught me: be prepared, and you can take control of your life. Cars and furnaces don't have to break down, and people don't have to be stranded in the desert." This determination was to stand her in good stead later on as she experienced resistance from universities in entering her chosen field of industrial engineering. She was questioned merely because she was a woman interested in what was a mainly male scientific field.

Sylvia's local library was also instrumental in influencing her life. A book about Clara Barton that her parents purchased for her, intrigued Sylvia because "It was the first time I'd ever read about a woman who did important things, even helping to win a war." In the library Sylvia liked to read "biographies about the childhoods of famous people". At times the local library was a place of refuge, such as when her mother planned to leave her father.

Sylvia also touches on the different expectations for her and her brother Mario from their father. "Papa expected me to get good grades in school, but it was never with the same interest that he took in my brother. Papa never asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the way Mami did. I knew he expected me to get married, have children, and keep house, just like Mami. He even said so sometimes." Her desire to attend college led Sylvia to refuse attending the home economics class in high school. Sylvia stood up to her father who felt that this was a class she needed. "But now, I refused to go every day to a class that was preparing me to be a homemaker. I was going to college, and I needed to learn other things besides cooking and sewing. And that's what I told Papa." At first her father refused to sign the paper exempting her from the class but eventually gave in. Sylvia took an extra math class.

Sylvia Acevedo's biography is fascinating and well told. Her story is that of  a girl who grew up with big dreams and found a way to make them happen. She was part of that generation of young women who forged a new path, overcoming obstacles, pushing themselves to be the best they could be, and taking risks. She was given the skills through her experiences in Girl Guides and certainly took to heart the motto, "Nothing is impossible if you work hard and develop the skills you need to succeed."

Path to the Stars should be read by any girl wanting a career in science, by any girl with big dreams. Her experiences entering university and the work world are familiar to those women, myself included who had to deal with discrimination simply because we are women. A well written and engaging story for all young readers!

image credits: https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/19/news/girl-scouts-new-ceo/index.html

Book Details:

Path To The Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo
New York: Clarion Books       2018
309 pp.

The Diamond and the Boy by Hannah Holt

Most people know that diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring mineral and very valuable. For decades they have been marketed as a symbol of love.  Diamonds were formed as a result of both high pressure and high temperature within the Earth's mantle at around 90 to 100 hundred miles below the surface, several billion years ago. They were brought closer to the surface either by deep seated volcanic activity or in subduction zones. These violent volcanic eruptions brought material from the mantle near to the surface in kimberlite pipes, a process that is believed to have happened very quickly.

It is a common misconception that diamonds are formed through the metamorphism of coal. However, they are found in rocks that are much older than coal. Most diamonds were formed from PreCambrian rock several billion years ago, whereas coal deposits are much younger. Diamonds are formed from carbon and are very hard because the bonds between the carbon atoms are very strong.

Diamonds can now be made synthetically in a lab under controlled conditions. Dr. Hall was the first who successfully created a diamond in the lab in a process that could be reproduced. For his work in creating artificial diamonds, Hall received the American Chemical Society's Award for Creation.

The Diamond and The Boy tells Tracy Hall's story. It was known how diamonds were created in nature and many believed that in time, the same conditions could be recreated in the lab. Dr. Hall and  his team did just that using a hydraulic press on carbon while heating it to 5000 Fahrenheit. Synthetic diamonds were becoming increasingly necessary in the oil and aerospace industry, so there was a need to develop a process to create artificial diamonds easily and without significant cost. Artificial diamonds could cut precisely and unlike natural diamonds,  could be designed for a specific task.

In The Diamond and The Boy, Hannah Holt, the granddaughter of Dr. Hall, tells the story of her grandfather along side a rock named graphite. The boy is poor and lives in a tent, while the rock lives deep down inside the earth. The graphite experiences the heat of the earth's mantle while the boy hides near heat to escape the bullies at school. Both experience pressure, the graphite the pressure from being buried so deeply in the mantle, the boy the pressures of hunger, cold and loneliness. While the graphite undergoes a violent eruption that brings it closer to the surface, the boy's talents are brought to light by his brilliance in school. Both wait for discovery, the diamond by the miners working the earth, the boy Tracy for graduation and a job in a science lab. Eventually, working after several trials, Dr. Hall was able to change rock into diamond.

Discussion

This picture book, geared for young audiences uses a dual narrative comparing the events a piece of graphite goes through to become a diamond to the events a young Tracy Hall experienced on his journey to creating artificial diamonds. The story is simply told, with the use of repetitive words such as HEAT,  PRESSURE, "THE CHANGE"  and phrases, "Mighty, unyielding, brilliant"  to emphasize the some of the more important aspects of the story for younger readers. Holt compares her grandfather's life experiences of being bullied and poor to that of carbon, both undergoing a trial that makes them something better, stronger and unbreakable.

Tracy Hall was born in 1919 in Utah. He studied at the University of Utah obtaining his B.Sc. and M.Sc. there. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he returned to his studies, obtaining his Ph,D in physical chemistry in 1948. Hall eventually joined a team at GE which was focused on creating artificial diamonds. Hall and the team managed to create a synthetic diamond in December of 1954. There is some controversy surrounding Hall and his methods, but the end result is that he was able to develop a process for producing synthetic diamonds that was reproducible.

Holt avoids all the controversy and just sticks to the basic story which is aided by Jay Fleck's simple illustrations created with coloured pencils and digitally added texture. Holt includes a short write-up titled "Diamonds As Gemstones" and a short biography of Tracy Hall, a Timeline and a Selected Bibliography.

Book Details:

The Diamond and The Boy by Hannah Holt
New York: Balzer + Bray     2018