"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin

Lin, Grace (2009). Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

2010 Newbery Honor Book

Minli lives in a village right at the foot of the Fruitless Mountain, which legend says is the heart of the Mother Jade Dragon who lost her four dragon children when they became rivers to help the thirsty people. Jade Dragon then proceeded to become the dark and dreary Jade River and left her dark, sad heart behind as a black rock mountain that will not give any vegetation whatsoever.

So Minli's parents, Ba and Ma, work hard everyday to be able to have a few grains of rice to live on when they return to the little humble shack they share with Minli. Everyday after their meager dinner, Minli's father, Ba, tells her wonderful stories of the dragons, the outside world, and the Old Man of the Moon who knows the answers to all questions. After coming to realize that Ba and Ma work ever so hard and never are able to rest, Minli decides to find the Old Man of the Moon in order to ask him some questions and hopefully bring a better fortune back to her home. Minli's epic journey has many touches of magic full of hope. The list of fantastic characters she encounters includes a flightless dragon who becomes a dear friend. Minli does find a better fortune for her family, but in a way that is not quite expected.

This story is made more endearing because it is steeped in Chinese culture. The stories sprinkled throughout the book are inspired by traditional Chinese folk tales and are tied together with a magical red thread of fantasy which make the journey that much more interesting and appealing. Lin's use of musical alliteration also adds to the story's appeal. The art in the book, which reminds the reader of Tang Dynasty paintings with added vibrancy, takes the reader's eyes to these fantastical places and brings the characters out of the story for a better view!

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Collins, Suzanne (2008). The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.(The Hunger Games Trilogy Series

Our heroine Katniss lives in a post-war futurist North America where twelve districts are at the mercy of a nation named Panem and its leaders. To keep these poor districts in check, the Capitol has devised a lottery of sorts where every year, each district "contributes" one female and one male tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 for the Hunger Games. The winner of these televised games is acknowledged only when all other tributes have been killed.

Katniss begins her narrative on the day of the lottery in which she is still a contender since she is only 16 years old. Her name is not selected but her 12 year old sister Primrose is. Katniss desperately volunteers to take Prim's place. Peeta, a 17 year old boy who has shown only exteme kindness toward Katniss is the other tribute.

Needless to say, the rest of the book is a can't-put-it-down-er! Action is high with emotions running even higher, and the intriguing romance that erupts just adds to the addictive commotion! The end just leaves you wanting to immediately snatch the next book in the series no matter who needs to be confronted and dealt with to get it!

I did not even pay attention to the wonderful writing elements in use, because I was so busy getting in on the action! The most perfect words and the most excellent plot must have been put together with the glue of addictive believability (in a science-fiction-ish kind of way, too!) in order for me to get so lost in this story! Hurray, Suzanne Collins!! She does such a great job with the use of some double-speak that I am sure it would make Orwell so proud!

Excuse me, but I need to go NOW and hunt for the next book in the series! See ya (and get out of my way...)

"Anything But Typical" by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Baskin, Nora Raleigh (2009). Anything But Typical. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

2010 Notable Children’s Book – Older Readers

Inaudible Whisper: "wow... wow... wow...."

That was my reaction as I read the last word of Baskin's Anything But Typical. Jason, who happens to be autistic, tells his story in an attempt to "Placate" the incessant "What's wrong with you?" question that is so tortuously repeated. (Placate is one of Jason's words-of-the-morning...)

NTs (neurotypicals) see Jason but don't understand him, mostly because of how he responds to them. NTs only understand what they perceive as worthy of understanding. So Jason lives a life full of ridicule, cruelty, and disconnectedness from all others except the few who have taken the time to learn about him and his "hidden" feelings. Surprisingly, Jason has taken the arduous task of learning all he can about NTs. Shouldn't they at least try the same?

This is definitely a MUST-READ! Baskin's use of precise, musical, and figurative language is fabulous. Her use of understatement seems to show the clearest picture with the least amount of words, and it brings an almost retreat-like insight into what "being different" is all about. Sometimes, Baskin only uses ONE word to present the reader with quite a complex understanding of what is going on!

If you read only one book from the list I have on my blog, please let it be this one.

"The Wish Giver" by Bill Brittian

Brittian, Bill (1983). The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Challenged Book

Old Stewart Meade, whose nickname is "Stew Meat," introduces the reader to the strange Thaddeus Blinn, a man who once visited the New England town of Coven Tree in a carnival tent claiming to grant any wish for a mere fifty cents. That is the one and only appearance Blinn makes in the story, but the havoc he leaves behind lasts the entire book!

Young Polly, Rowena, and Adam were in the tent that fateful night with Stew. They each give their money to Blinn and receive a card with a red spot on it, for only 50 cents each. All they have to do is touch the spot with their thumb and make the wish. It seems simple enough...

Polly, who constantly speaks her mind and offends many around her makes her wish with some other specific words to be popular, and those words come to be true exactly as she asks for them! Rowena wants the traveling salesman who visits twice a year and whom she she secretly adores to plant roots in Coven Tree - and he does! And Adam wishes his father's extreme drought problem to be solved by wishing for water and enough of it to spare, so he receives so much water in his father's farm that there is plenty to spare indeed!

When Polly, Rowena, and Adam are at their wits end, they come to their senses for a time and realize that Stew Meat also received a card! They all run to Stew's convenience store and the three clamor for Stew to make a wish to take away their unique problems. Stew's wish sure brings sanity back, but none of the four are left the same at all. Actually, the change is not too bad! Maybe the wishes did them all some good!

Several interesting illustrations by Andrew Glass add a touch of cartoon-ish effect to the already humorous stories and Brittain's four-plots-in-one are so interestingly and masterfully intertwined! The cover is even more humorous once one reads the book! Take a look at Stew again when you finish reading!

"Bless Me Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Anaya, Rudolfo (1972, 1999). Bless Me Ultima. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.

Challenged Book

Antonio Marez is a young boy caught between two worlds in more ways than one. His father (wild and anxious) and mother (proper and reserved) are complete opposites of each other and have such opposing views that Antonio at times wonders how they have stayed together. His mother's Catholicism and his ancestors' paganism are also two worlds that do not reconcile with each other. And finally, good and evil seem to merge at times and blurs the clarity that Antonio was once sure of.

When the town's curandera, or healer, comes to live with his family out of necessity, Antonio seems to find a guide he can look up to in his confusion. Ultima, la curandera, is as wise as she is old, and she shows many things to Antonio in a way that he can best understand them. All seems well until all three of his brothers are called to arms for the Second World War and the town's most evil resident, Tenorio Trementina, has made sure he has hidden the fact that his three daughters are evil witches practicing black, satanic magic. It is not until Antonio's uncle Lucas has been severely bewitched by the three witches that Ultima must counter the evil and set Tenorio in to a rage which does not end well!

There are still signs of hope for Antonio and the entire town of Guadalupe, New Mexico despite the awful tragedies that ensue caused by hate, rage, and disillusionment.

Rudolfo Anaya's tale is a story I can relate to because of my Hispanic ranching background. I know Antonio is part American Indian, but all the traditions mentioned in the book were not foreign to me! And the magical elements weaved into the story are not as fictional as one might suppose. (My own people's view, however, is that if any supernatural event is not directly from God, then one must make all efforts to avoid such things.)

Anaya writes his prose like musical poetry and vividly illustrates all the scenes with beautiful words that make rich images! He guides the reader to actually experience the rich traditions of the Hispanic/American Indian people and get to know persons that have so much depth. I truly enjoyed his talent for writing and really learned from his character's point of view.