The Magician's Elephant - Kate DiCamillo

Synopsis


What if? Why not? Could it be?

When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch.


Thoughts

Despite the simple prose, the concepts and entire story line of the book were much deeper and more complicated than in a mere children's book. I found it moving and introspective - aspects you don't usually see in a children's book.


Overall

A very good read (despite the fact that I am almost ten years older than the targeted age group).   A deep read for a children's book.

Recommended

Older children. It's also a good book for parents to read to their children - simple enough for children to enjoy, but complex enough that it doesn't become mind numbingly boring for parents.

The People's Act of Love - James Meek

Synopsis

In 1919 Siberia, in the outer reaches of a country recently torn apart by civil war, lives a small Christian sect and its enigmatic leader, Balashov. Stationed in their midst is a company of Czech soldiers, on the losing side of the recent conflict and desperate to get home. Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia's northernmost prison. His arrival intrigues many of the locals, including Anna Petrovna, a beautiful young war widow, but when the local shaman is found dead, suspicion and terror engulf the little town..."The People's Act of Love" is an epic drama of desire and sacrifice, a grand table for modern times.

Thoughts

This book is extremely complex and very slow moving - so if you want a book to jump right into, this is not the book for you. The novel begins by devoting an entire chapter to each important character, which sets up the entire story, although you don't see it at first. These chapters are surrounded by other chapters moving the plot - often parts that you can not understand as the character has not been set up for you yet. This can be very confusing, but the mystery is enticing enough, although barely, to wade through the next few chapters. Once the story gets rolling, however, the plot moves extremely fast and becomes hard to follow because of the swiftness of events.

This was a well-written, but very dense book, and I feel like the full point of the book went over my head. Only after reading other reviews did I understand that the purpose of this book was to expose all the different types of beliefs people have in regards to love and how they display them. It is an interesting concept, but I am not sure the author executed this meaning the best way - it got caught up so much in a kind of murder mystery that the entire purpose to this story became covered up. The reader gets lost in the many characters ( there are FIVE main characters) and the action is all over the place - the first half of the novel doesn't occur entirely chronologically. There is just so much to process that its very difficult to understand in one read.

Overall

Strange, and interesting. Well written, but a little too confusing and disturbing for what I like.

Recommended for:

Definitely for the heavy reader. People either love or hate this novel - read it if you like philosophy and slow-moving text. I would also recommend this to someone who doesn't mind rereading a novel to fully understand the meaning and who does not mind graphic scenes and shocking actions.

Poison Apples - Lily Archer

Synopsis

We all know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. But have you ever heard of Alice Bingley-Beckerman, Reena Paruchuri, or Molly Miller? Of course you haven’t. Not yet. What these girls have in common with their fairy tale sisters is this: they are the stepdaughters of three very evil stepmothers. And they’re not happy about it. They think they are alone in their unhappiness until they arrive at Putnam Mount McKinsey, a posh boarding school located in lovely rural Massachusetts. Here is where they will plot their revenge. But first they have to meet.

In her first novel, Lily Archer tells a knowing, wickedly funny story about how friendship just may turn out to be more happily-ever-after than family.


Thoughts

This is a perfect read for young adults; its witty yet heart-warming. As someone going through my own parent's divorce, I found the young girls easy to relate to despite the fact that these girls are high school age. The author writes her story through the eyes of four very different girls, allowing any girl to connect to at least of one - a very intelligent move on her part. The story is well-written, and manages to inject humor into almost every scene without detracting from the hardships these young women go through.


Overall

I was impressed with this book as a young adult novel - most aren't very good. An entertaining and insightful read for women and girls alike.


Recommended for:

Young adult readers, especially young women.

The School for Dangerous Girls - Eliot Schrefer

Synopsis

Bookmooch: Angela's parents think she's on the road to ruin because she's dating a "bad boy." After her behavior gets too much for them, they ship her off to Hidden Oak. Isolated and isolating, Hidden Oak promises to rehabilitate "dangerous girls." But as Angela gets drawn in further and further, she discovers that recovery is only on the agenda for the "better" girls. The other girls -- designated as "the purple thread" -- will instead be manipulated to become more and more dangerous . . . and more and more reliant on Hidden Oak's care.

Thoughts

This was another novel I was surprised by. I was expecting lots of lol's and like omg! However, it quickly captured my attention with the mystery behind this school. It had a gripping, and unique story line. While many of the girls have real problems, not all do. Separated into two groups - those that can be helped and those that can't, you discover the huge differences in the treatment. One group learns how to be assimilated into society. When the main character - who finds out she is borderline on the to groups - acts out again, she is thrown into a basement where the girls act like gangs and remain unsupervised except for the cruel and inhumane punishment doled out by the faculty. As I read the story I was overcome with the injustice of these treatments and caught up in how the heroine was going to escape this situation. Unfortunately after all the tension, the ending was a let down. All of a sudden things just sort themselves out. Although the heroine catalyzes this action, it doesn't really explain how that happened and what happened in the process of this solution and a few of the characters are just kind of written out. Although I enjoyed the spy-like aspect to this and found the story line, it wasn't very believable. The situations and many of the characters just didn't seem real.

Overall

Intriguing, but in the end a bit of a let down. Worth reading if you have absolutely nothing else to do and need to pass the time. A quick read.

Recommended for:
Young adult readers

Diva - Alex Flinn

Synopsis:

Caitlin wants to be a diva. Make that a Diva with a capital D. Sure, you're thinking. A diva. Every girl wants to be one. Caitlin, however, isn't interested in being your normal, everday Paris Hilton. She wants to be the next Christine from Phantom of the Opera. Yep, Caitlin loves opera.

Unusual? Sure. But Caitlin isn't happy waiting in the wings. She wants to soar, to embrace her music, to truly live. And now that she's been accepted into the prestigious Miami High School of the Arts, success is within her reach. Or so she hopes. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to fit in at Miami H.S.A.. She just isn't "weird" enough. She doesn't dance in the subways, for heaven's sake.

Then she meets Sean. Together, they make amazing music. And the sparks flying between them, well, to Caitlin, are pretty amazing too. Sean has a few secrets though... how will they affect the two of them?


Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The synopsis sets it up to be another catty teen novel, but it had a surprising amount of substance. The character is first introduced in one of Flinn's earlier novels, but this book stands alone. The character is very real, and the issues and fears she deals with on a daily basis mirror those of every teenager. While it addresses many issues modern teens face, it thankfully turns down the opportunity to become overly dramatic.

The musical aspect of this was just another plus side for me :-). From what I have heard from my many friends at arts schools, the depiction seems accurate, although I would like to point out that Phantom of the Opera is a musical and not an opera. In any case the music is only a small detail in the big picture of Diva. My only big complaint is the occasional use of text/im speech, while used for a purpose, still annoys me personally.

The novel is about chasing your dreams at any costs, and understanding what those consequences are. Its about finding yourself and keeping true to that.

On a side note - I found out much later that this is a character from Flinn's first novel, Breathing Underwater. 

Overall

A pretty good read from the young adult section.


Recommended for:

Young adult and chick lit readers.

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