Review: Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana is a moving and memorable middle grade novel that centres on one young girl's survival through one of the world's worst natural disasters. I loved everything about this book, from its realistic main character, to the moments that broke my heart, to the exploration of the bonds of family and community in times of emergency.

Summary: Armani Curtis can think about only one thing: her tenth birthday. All her friends are coming to her party, her mama is making a big cake, and she has a good feeling about a certain wrapped box. Turning ten is a big deal to Armani. It means she’s older, wiser, more responsible. But when Hurricane Katrina hits the Lower Nines of New Orleans, Armani realizes that being ten means being brave, watching loved ones die, and mustering all her strength to help her family weather the storm. A powerful story of courage and survival, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere celebrates the miraculous power of hope and love in the face of the unthinkable.

Armani wants nothing more to grow up, but growing up means having to deal with grown-up things that no person adult (or child) should ever have to face. Her house floods, she loses several members of her family, she is partly at fault for her family failing to evacuate, and she watches everything--her home, her town, her community--destroyed. From the sights, smells, and sounds of suffering and destruction, to the happy ending that leaves you with hope, this is a powerful story about one little girl's bravery, strength, and heroic perseverance through unimaginable tragedy. 

There is some mature content for teachers and educators to consider from language to mature themes of death and loss. Armani loses many people she loves, including half her family, and these deaths may be upsetting to younger readers. However, Lamana's writing is eloquent, purposeful, and ringed with fact and honesty. Any content that might be objectionable to sensitive younger readers is not present for shock value, but it is a sincere effort to help the reader understand what people actually lived through.

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere is a beautiful and unforgettable novel, and it has definitely earned its place on my favourites shelf! I truly believe that this is one of the best pieces of fiction for young readers on the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys inspiring stories or survival tales. 

4 Stars

Review: Is It Night or Day? by Fern Schumer Chapman

Is It Night or Day? is a beautifully written and touching story for YA readers set during World War II. Fern Schumer Chapman tells mother's story of how she was sent to America by her parents to have her best chance at life. This novel is an excellent choice for students studying World War II, particularly because it brings to life America's One Thousand Children project; a virtually unheard of, but heroic and extraordinary humanitarian effort to save German children during the Nazi regime.

Summary: It’s 1938, and twelve-year-old Edith is about to move from the tiny German village she’s lived in all her life to a place that seems as foreign as the moon: Chicago, Illinois. And she will be doing it alone. This dramatic and chilling novel about one girl’s escape from Hitler’s Germany was inspired by the experiences of the author’s mother, one of twelve hundred children rescued by Americans as part of the One Thousand Children project. 

Edith's story, like all wartime stories, is tragic. But the story is told through the eyes of a little girl with hope, strength, and an inspiring resilience. The language and content is clean, though the novel does mention suicide. Edith's mother becomes depressed early in the novel and is caught by Edith stringing a rope in the attic. Ultimately, this is not how her mother dies, but this moment in the plot is a notable content flag.

Is It Night or Day? offers readers a unique view into the effects of the war on German and Jewish people. I very much enjoyed reading this novel and recommend it for both educational and personal uses. My copy of the book includes bonus material, including a discussion guide and a real story of how Edith and another emigrant child are reunited after the novel was published.

4 Stars

Review: Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Since this title was announced on Scholastic's 2014 summer list, I have been anxious to get my hands on an ARC. I minored in Classical Studies, with emphasis on Etruscan and Roman civilizations, so this book is basically literary gold for me. I am obsessed with anything to do with Roman history; it's fascinating, and this book did not disappoint me!

Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Shecter will be published on May 27, 2014 by Arthur A. Levine Books (a division of Scholastic Inc). It is a YA novel centred on the forbidden love affair of a young aristocratic girl and a slave, who works as a healer at her father's gladiatorial school. Their love affair, a scandalous relationship, escalates up to climax of the novel: the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD.

For those of you who aren't as embarrassingly nerdy as I am, Pompeii and Herculaneum are two fascinating ancient sites. Unlike other Roman archaeological sites, these two cities tell us so much about the way people lived. The eruption covered everything--people, houses, animals, jewelry, household items--in ash and molten rock, preserving the city exactly as it was when the volcano erupted.

Images: Above: Pompeiian ruins. Below left: a dog, below right: multiple bodies found in the wreckage.






This novel is a great YA historical read, though it's not "historical" in the sense of accuracy (this isn't a Rick Riordan novel!). There are many inaccuracies and anachronisms, but I am forgiving in this instance. I think it's more important to get kids reading and to get them interested in learning more about history, than it is to accurate.

I do have an ARC, so I'm hoping the mistake of using the Greek name Poseidon won't show up in the finished copy. Furthermore, the language is very modern and there is minimal use of cultural terminology or Latin words. You don't need knowledge of Roman history to be able to enjoy the book.

The forbidden love story is a great angle from which to tell the story. Aside from what the eruption was like, there is a lot of historical information that readers will gain from reading. Property ownership, slavery and the treatment of slaves, women's rights, gladiator schools, medical practices, class division, and true Roman practices such as exposure (discarding unwanted newborn infants) and marriage are all important tropes. Also, the author incorporates a fabulous comparison of pregnancy/birth with the eruption of the volcano. They are the same; the birth of a baby is a violent and potentially fatal moment, as is the eruption of a volcano, which is the violent and lethal birthing of nature.

There are two major twists at the end that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. This, combined with the excitement of the volcano raining down on the city, makes this book a huge success for me.
This is a heart-stopping story of survival, of forbidden love, and of a terrifying natural disaster.

Shecter does an exceptional job of balancing history with fiction, presenting both in such a way that is appealing to YA readers. There isn't any gore and the book isn't frightening; it is subtly educational and certainly exciting!

Curses and Smoke gets 4 stars from me. I appreciate the hell out of an author who will get the younger generations interested in ancient civilizations! I also appreciate that there is a YA alternative to the hype around Pompeii in 2014 with Pompeii the movie, and the subsequent attention on the book from which it was adapted: Richard Harris' Pompeii.

Review: The Man Who Sunk Titanic by Sally Nilsson

Sally Nilsson's The Man Who Sank Titanic: The Troubled Life of Quartermaster Robert Hichens is the biographical/nonfiction story of her ancestor. Hichens was at the wheel of Titanic at the time of the collision, and manned lifeboat six, famously telling Molly Brown to "shut that hole in your face."

I've always been fascinated with the tragic story of Titanic, but it can be difficult to find nonfiction books that are not dry or an exhausting read. Fortunately, this book is accessible, detailed, and well-written, and covers the events before, during and after of the world's most famous maritime disaster.

SUMMARY:
With previously unpublished research and family photographs, this book by Hichens' granddaughter sets the record straight about the Titanic quartermaster who steered into an iceberg and kept control of a lifeboat. Robert Hichens has gone down in history as the man who was given the famous order to steer the Titanic away from the iceberg and failed. A key witness at both U.S. and British Inquiries, he returned to a livelihood where fellow crewmen considered him jinxed. But Robert had a long career and was a hardworking, ambitious seaman. A fisherman at 19, he quickly became a junior officer in the merchant navy. In World War II he was part of a cargo ship convoy on route to Africa where his ship dodged mines, U-boats and enemy aircraft. To Robert, being at sea was everything but the dark memories of the Titanic were never far away and in 1933 a failed murder attempt after a bitter feud nearly cost Robert his life. Here Robert's great-granddaughter Sally Nilsson seeks to set the record straight and reveal the true character of the man her family knew. This is one man's story of survival, betrayal and determination.

Although part of Nilsson's thesis is to show that Robert Hichens was not the cold and uncaring person he is often painted as, the book doesn't read with a heavy bias. Nilsson treats the history with integrity, sticking to the facts in light of her relation to Hitchens, and includes the good, the bad, and the unclear details about the disaster and his life, leaving the reader free to form their own opinion.

Other interesting facts include crew hierarchy, the ship's operations, the early parts of the voyage, other key witnesses and famous passengers, as well as emergency procedures. Nilsson even goes so far as to compare and draw parallels with James Cameron's film. By comparing moments in the film to the facts, any confident reader who saw the movie can then pick this book up, enjoy it, and learn something.

The legal proceedings were particularly interesting. Nilsson covers the questioning of key witnesses and speaks to the efforts of the White Star Line to conceal the gross negligence that inarguably occurred on April 14th. The book includes transcripts, glossy photographs, unpublished research, diagrams, and a helpful index. The writing style and flow of the narrative makes it easy to submerge one's self in the history and to really appreciate the magnitude of the disaster.

Whether you're a novice or a well-read Titanic enthusiast, this book is definitely worth reading. The book opened my eyes to the determination of the world to blame someone for the disaster. We come to understand the man who steered the ship into the iceberg and why he earned his reputation of being a coward and a bully. More importantly, we learn to sympathize with him, and with the difficult position that the surviving crew members were placed in.

Along with a lot of new information, I also began to think differently about the disaster. When you watch the film, you think about how lucky the people in the boats are to survive at all. What you don't usually consider is how terrible surviving can be. There was a large amount of shame with having your name associated with employment on the Titanic, particularly because seaman are superstitious people. Survivors were haunted by the memory of the sinking and the sounds of the dying 1500 people in the ocean. The world desperately wanted to assign blame to the crew, particularly to those who survived, when other officers went down with Titanic. On top of this was the guilt, the difficulty finding work, and the crushing pressure of the press. No, surviving was not easy. And for some, like Robert, sometimes surviving felt like a fate worse than death.

The Man Who Sunk The Titanic is an eye-opening and fascinating read. This is a great book for people interested in learning more about Titanic, and a valuable addition to school and public libraries.

4 Stars

Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

I cannot even begin to describe how much I enjoyed Stolen by Lucy Christopher. It's well-written, gripping, shocking, sad, dark, realistic, and beautiful.

Summary: This is how it happened: Gemma is on a layover in Bangkok, en route to a family vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second. To get a cup of coffee. Ty--rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar--pays for her frink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. The object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the Australian Outback. To sand and heat. Emptiness and isolation. Where he expects her to love him.

Stolen is written in first-person narrative, as a letter to her kidnapper. The content is disturbing and sometimes uncomfortable, but like Nabokov's Lolita, it is also beautiful. We hate Ty on sheer principle. We want to run screaming from him, but we also see the allure to his character; he's so much more than a twisted criminal. Ty lives the language of love, just as Humbert does in Lolita. If we didn't know what was happening in Stolen, we might not know that Ty's feelings for Gemma were anything but feelings of true love and respect. If you liked Lolita (in the way that you liked the book, but were also repulsed and couldn't tear your eyes away), then you will enjoy Stolen.

I went through a myriad of emotions while reading this book. I pitied Gemma, I was scared for her, I was annoyed, I was angered by her developing feelings for Ty, and I understood her. Christopher shows how easily any girl (or person, for that matter) can become a victim of something like this. Gemma does not "ask for it" and she doesn't make bad choices. This is a frightening, but all too real scenario of an everyday teenage girl who manages to survive a terrible, terrible situation.

Stolen is also a story of psychological and emotional distress. Christopher brings to life the crippling emotions of the victim and what it's like to live with Stockholm Syndrome. Mental illness is such an important topic and I'm glad that Christopher makes the story about so much more than the crime itself. Stolen makes it clear that surviving the kidnapping is only half the battle

Although Stolen is a teen book, I enjoyed it very much as an adult. Lucy Christopher is a talented writer whose story has stuck with me from the moment I started reading, to the moment I finished (and I finished reading this book days ago!). It reads a little like The Lovely Bones, but I see more similarities to Lolita. This is a powerful, beautiful, and amazing book, and I sincerely recommend you add this to your reading list!

5 Stars

Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Victoria Scott's new novel Fire & Flood comes in hot on the trail of the teen/dystopian fiction books that emerged in the wake of The Hunger Games. Contenders volunteer to enter a deadly race where only one person can win a cure for any one person's ailment—any ailment. It is a bloody race for the ultimate prize, driven by the lengths that humans will go to out of desperation and determination.

This book was so much better than I expected— it was incredible! It is so well-written and exciting that it doesn't need my Hunger Games hangover to be a great read. This isn't a knockoff and it's definitely a YA must-read for spring 2014.

That's not to say fans of Suzanne Collins won't be a little bitter. There ARE several similarities, but that's what sells in this market. Everyone is looking to write the next Hunger Games, Twilight, or Harry Potter.

Fire and Flood Game: Race Hero's Participation: I VOLUNTEER TO SAVE MY BROTHER! The Arena: Cut-throat Contenders, alliances, finding means of survival in each arena The enemy: The government Dangerous competition: The Triggers

The Hunger Games Game: Fight to the death Hero's Participation : I VOLUNTEER TO SAVE MY SISTER! The Arena: Cut-throat Tributes, alliances, finding means of survival in whatever arena is chosen by the Game Makers The enemy: The government Dangerous competition: The Careers

One of the main differences is that each Contender is provided with a genetically engineered animal to assist them called a Pandora. Tella's Pandora is Maddox; an adorable black fox with superior powers. He, like Tella, is braver, stronger, and is clearly more than what he appears to be. So to sum up, F&F is like a cross of Pokemon and The Hunger Games. 

As a protagonist, Tella was difficult for me to like. Scott plays up the love interest aspect a bit too much and it makes Tella seem immature and silly. Tella spends too much time wishing/whining that Guy would share all of his deep dark secrets. What? You haven't shared everything with him and Sweetie, you JUST met him. It's okay that he's not spilling his soul to you. Please pull it together and remember why you're here. Then again, the writing is so good that it's difficult to stay irritated when Scott writes love and passion so well.

"He could make me hot in the ninth circle of hell." Damn. 

While Tella isn't a warrior or in possession of any extra talent, she is a girl who made a very brave choice to save her brother. She gets as far as she does because of her Pandora and with the help of her allies. I respect the strength she has and her ability to recognize that it's okay to accept help; that you don't have to risk your life to go it alone. 

Just when you think the book is good, the ending will leave you breathless. You'll be turning the pages as fast as the blood-thirsty desperation of the other Contenders emerges. There's plenty more drama, suspense, betrayal, danger, and blood to be spilled even after this pulse-pounding conclusion. 

I'm really looking forward to reading the second book. Do NOT write this book off because of its similarities to The Hunger Games. It's a thrilling novel of heart-stopping proportions in its own right. Go and reserve your copy! 4 stars.

Fire & Flood will be published March 1, 2014.