The Book Review Club (May 2018)

Welcome to the May 2018 edition of The Book Review Club. Apparently, the first weekend in May is World Naked Gardening Day. Who knew!! If you're so inclined, here's a link to WNGD: right here. In the meantime, please scroll down after my review where you'll find links to terrific reviews of terrific books.

I LOVE YOU, MICHAEL COLLINS
by Lauren Baratz-Logsted 
(middle grade, historical, fiction)

A little from the flap: It's 1969 and the country is gearing up for what looks to be the most exciting moment in U.S. history: men landing on the moon. Ten-year-old Mamie and her classmates are given an assignment to write letters to the astronauts. All the girls write to Neil Armstrong ("so dreamy") and all the boys write to Buzz Aldrin ("he's got the great name!"). Only Mamie writes to Michael Collins, the astronaut who will come so close but never walk on the moon, because he is the one who must stay with the ship.

I'll be honest. I was hooked from the flap copy.  Who doesn't love a story about space travel? With a feisty, independent protagonist? Especially one who's only ten years old! Listen to this: When asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, all the girls in the class wanted to marry an astronaut. All the boys wanted to be an astronaut. What did our independent, free-thinking protagonist respond to the teacher? "How should I know?...I'm ten!"

Yes, there's humor in this book. There's natural opportunity for humor with Mamie's self-absorbed teen sister, her gifted best friend and, of course, Mamie's own forthrightness.

Sprinkled throughout the story are interesting tidbits of history. Take Tang, for example. Because the astronauts drink Tang during their travels, Mamie and her best friend, Buster, drink Tang while watching the Apollo 11 on (color!) TV. There's a a suggested reading list at the back of the book.

I do love a book told in letters. I love the way it lets you get inside a character's head. Personally, I've never been able to write an epistolary novel, but that Lauren Baratz-Logsted is some kind of brilliant! Mamie begins writing to Michael Collins as part of a school assignment. She continues writing to him as her family life becomes more and more complicated. In fact, Mamie ends up home alone. You can see the parallel: Michael Collins alone in the spaceship and Mamie alone in her house. Both do what it takes to keep things running smoothly for those they're waiting for.

I Love You, Michael Collins is an entertaining, heartwarming, informative read. It'd make a great addition to your school library. It'd be a terrific summer read for your 4th through 7th grader (roughly speaking). Oh, and I'm not the only person who loves this book. I Love You, Michael Collins was recently nominated for the Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award.

(Dear FCC: One magical word: library. Although I wish I knew the author. I have a feeling we'd get on great and have lots to gab about over a coffee. All that to say, this is an independent book review of a book I loved. Next I plan to read Zombie Abbey, also by Lauren Baratz-Logsted.)

And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Jody Feldman: THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL by Stacy McAnulty
                                                                                                                       (contemp, MG)
                                                                                                               
Phyllis Wheeler: LITTLE BIGFOOT, BIG CITY by Jennifer Weiner (fantasy, MG)

Sarah Laurence: SOMEDAY, SOMEWHERE by Lindsay Champion (contemporary, YA)


ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: SWEET TEA TUESDAYS by Ashley Farley (women's)

Linda McLaughlin: A BACHELOR ESTABLISHMENT by Jodi Taylor (historical romance)

Patti Abbott:  THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER'S BOY by Barbara Vine (mystery)

Ray Potthoff: VARINA by Charles Frazier (historical)

NONFICTION REVIEW

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: GRANDMOTHERING by Linda Eyre

Margy Lutz: DRAWN TO SEA by Yvonne Maximchuk


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (April 2016)

Welcome to the April edition of The Book Review Club! Here's a famous first line for you: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." (from 1984 by George Orwell) We have loads of reviews this month, which means we've all been reading good books and want to pass on the word!

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS
 by Fran Cannon Slayton (middle grade, historical)

I met Fran in March of 2010 at the Virginia Book Festival in Charlottesville, VA. She might not remember (there were scads of kid lit authors), but Fran made an impression on me: smart, articulate, helpful, genuine. Above all, genuine. Her middle-grade novel, WHEN THE WHISLE BLOWS, has been on my TBR list since that meeting. Yes, yes, my pile of to-read books is totally out of control! It's threatening to take over the bedroom! Anyway, I finally read WHEN THE WHISLE BLOWS last week during my Oklahoma trip, and I LOVED IT!

This past January, Fran was diagnosed with brain cancer. She writes a very honest and heart-warming/heart-wrenching blog about this ongoing journey. Here's the link to Fran's My Unexpected Journey.

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS opens on Halloween 1943 in the small mountain town of Rowlesburg, West Virginia. Jimmy Cannon is in seventh grade and wants nothing more than to grow up and, like his dad and older brother, work for the railroad....the "iron horse." Unfortunately, the steam engine is on its way out, and, like the rest of us, Jimmy is unable to stop change. Jimmy's dad, whose birthday is on Halloween, predicts the coming of the diesel engine. By the end of the book, this prediction comes true. Each chapter is the next Halloween. Which is pretty cool because you see Jimmy growing up a year at a time, all the way to 1949. Also, each chapter gives us a slice of Jimmy's life: pranks with his friends, a robbery, his uncle's wake, a high-school football game, etc. A great strength of this book lies in the characters. They are well developed and authentic. I was sorry to reach the last page and know my time with them was over. As the mother of three boys, I can attest that the author really and truly captured the boy perspective. Another strength is the historical details. They are woven seamlessly into the narrative and dialogue. For me, WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS is reminiscent of a Jack London or a Richard Peck novel. Yes, it's that good.

Not something I normally do as part of a book review: Fran will need help to cover medical expenses. Buying this book would help. For other ways to pitch in, click here.

(Dear FCC: I bought this book. Plain and simple. And I'm glad I did.)

And staying on track (oh, come on, you were waiting for at least one train pun!) ...onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one! Choo choo! (That's it! Seriously, I'm done :) )

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS
Ellen Booraem: GRAYLING'S SONG by Karen Cushman (middle grade, fantasy)

Jody Feldman: THE MYSTERIOUS MOONSHINE by Eric Luper (middle grade, mystery)

Beth Bonini of TRAC: ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (YA, science fiction)

Rob Costello: BUTTERFLY by Sonya Hartnett (young adult)

Sarah Laurence: THIS IS THE STORY OF YOU by Beth Kephart (young adult, contemporary)

Stacy Nyikos: THE PASSENGER by Alexandra Bracken (young adult, science fiction)


ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS
Alyssa Goodnight: FLIGHT OF DREAMS by Ariel Lawhon (historical)

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: YOU'RE ONLY OLD ONCE by Dr. Seuss (humorous)

Patti Abbott:  ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

Linda McLaughlin: THE DOG WHO KNEW TOO MUCH by Spencer Quinn (mystery)
                                 PAW ENFORCEMENT by Diane Kelly (mystery)
                                 A DOG'S PURPOSE by W. Bruce Cameron

Lucy Sartain of Ranting and Raving: THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE by Simone St. James
                                                            (part romance, part historical, part mystery, seriously creepy!)

Ray Potthoff: THE REVENANT by Michael Punke (historical)

Stacy of the Cat's Meow: THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Melanie Benjamin


NONFICTION REVIEW
Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: ALL-ELECTRIC AMERICA by David Freeman & Leah Parks
                                                  THE LIFE & TIMES OF LILIAN J. RICE by Diane Welch
                                                   (biography)

Scott Parker: LEONARD: MY 50 YEAR FRIENDSHIP WITH A REMARKABLE MAN
                      by William Shatner (memoir)



Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!