Family Storms

Family Storms
by
V. C. Andrews
(ghostwriter, V. C. Andrews has been dead for some time now)
young adult/adult fiction

Family Storms by V. C. Andrews. V. C. Andrews has been dead for some time now, so this is ghostwritten. Sasha's life is at a low - she and her mother are homeless. It sinks lower when her mother is killed by a druggie driver. Her luck changes when she is taken in as a foster child, but rich families are not all they seem and the foster mother and sister both have sinister agendas...

I have not read any V. C. Andrews' books for a while. I was disappointed that this book was not as creepy as I had hoped. There was some secret/menacing stuff, but not as bad as the incest and other topics in previous works.

Words in the Dust

Words in the Dust
by
Trent Reedy
YA fiction

Inspired by events that happened to the author when he was stationed in Afghanistan this book is contemporary and highly readable. Zulaikha is an Afghan girl with a birth defect - a cleft lip. This makes eating and talking difficult for her, but most importantly, it affects her marriageability. She is mocked by the village boys and her family is not so sure what her future will hold. The American soldiers notice her one day and come up with a plan to have the American doctors help her. Will her dreams of a normal life come true? Is it too much for a poor girl to dream?

The author ties in all kinds of facts about current life in Afghanistan and references to the past that made the country what it is today. Another theme that runs throughout is the role of women in society, the love of poetry that Afghans have traditionally held, the aftermath of war, the lack of literacy among the young people, and many more discussable topics.

It reminds me of "Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind" but more up to date.

The publisher has included a glossary, which was very helpful. There were many words that the author used that were rather foreign. There is also a discussion with the author, a bibliography of other books about Afghanistan, and a note about the poetry that is referenced in the book.

This book deserves to go on a number of reading lists - books for teenaged girls, books about current events, books about the role of women, books about world culture, etc.

It is touching that the author says that the best person to write this would be an Afghan woman, but the literacy rate among females in that part of Afghanistan is only about 1 %. Heartbreaking! The author is donating money to a charity that supports the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and there is also a link to a group that starts and runs schools for girls in central Asia.

Reading this book reminds me how grateful I need to be that I am an American woman instead of a poor, illiterate Afghani.

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick
by
Kevin Henkes
children's fiction, ages 2-5
board book
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2001
CCBC Choices, 2002
Parenting Magazine, Reading Magic Award, 2001

Sheila Rae has candy. Her little sister wants her to share, but Sheila doesn't want to, so she promises her sister she can have some if she can complete some difficult tasks. Fate intervenes and in the end they share.
I recommend this book for families with more than one child to show how siblings should share. Only children who have to share at nursery school or day care would benefit as well.
Henkes has demonstrated in a number of books how he can use a minimal number of pictures and words to create a complete story. Impressive. Timeless.
The font used in this book is good for beginning readers, using the letter "a" that looks like a circle with a line rather than the printer's version with a curled "a".
Henkes won the 2005 Caldecott Medal for "Kitten's First Full Moon" which I have reviewed in an earlier blog. He seems to like to draw mice as his main characters.

Painted Dresses

Painted Dresses
by
Patricia Hickman
by
Waterbrook Press
adult fiction, romance, travel, Christian fiction

The wild sister and the tame sister take off on a road trip to visit relatives and find out the truth about their now deceased parents and their incarcerated half brother. They find out about themselves and the past. Can they get on with life once these questions are answered? This book starts in North Carolina, but tours through the Southern states.

Catching Genius

Catching Genius
by
Kristy Kiernan
Adult Fiction

The first thing I noticed about this book was the Adirondack chairs on the cover. I remember that my coworker who was always in charge of the Adult Summer Reading program used to look for books with Adirondack chairs on the covers to use in the display. It is a quintessential image of summer contentment to sit facing the water, catching rays, reading a paperback, and as far as library displays go, it will not offend our more delicate patrons by showing a scantily clad swimmer.

As to the plot, it is not necessarily light summer reading, but it could serve that need. Sisters Connie and Estella are reunited when their mother decides to get rid of the summer home that no one is using any more. They have to face their memories - good and bad - as they pack up the home. They had some happy times there until one of the sisters was diagnosed with an exceptionally high I.Q. and ended up spending too much time with her math mentor, eventually leaving home because of her gift. The sisters see this as the end of their normal, fairly well-off childhood. Is high I. Q. a blessing or a curse? They have seen it both ways. Now a nephew is identified as being gifted in music. Will it be a blessing or curse for him? How can they protect him from those who might exploit his talent? There is some romance and heartbreak thrown in, but it is not really a romance book.
This book could be used in a discussion by gifted students or their teachers or parents. A reader's guide is included in the paperback version.

Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways

Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways
by
Laura McGee Kvasnosky, read by Jenny Selig
Book plus 2 audiodiscs
children's fiction, ages 5-8.

This set features two fox sisters in short stories that are good for beginning readers. The adventures are simple, funny, and short with not much plot twisting. Add Zelda and Ivy to the list of sibling pairs featured in children's stories (Arthur and D. W., Fudge and his sister, Max and Ruby, etc.). I see that my library has at least 3 Zelda and Ivy adventure books.
Since the adventures are very short, this works well in the car with small children with short attention spans. The audio part can probably be enjoyed by 3-4 year olds as well.
One disc has page turns and narration. One disc has just narration. I would think that they could save money and space by having them on track 1 and 2 of one disc.