The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge ***

I belong to a great online support group, Hemi-kids, that I get a lot of information and understanding from. Though Puppy doesn't have hemiplegia himself, he does have the same underlying issue--stroke. Puppy had a blood disorder when he was born called NAIT. Though it can be complicated to explain, I'll just say it made him prone to bleeding. When he was born he was covered in bruises and because the doctor used a suction device to deliver him he had a stroke.

A couple of years ago some of the people on the list serv started talking about this great book that proved brain plasticity. Not only that, it talked about how plasticity doesn't go away when we get older. For those of us dealing either personally or as a parent of someone with a brain challenge, this information can make your hopes soar. Something can be done to help either regain or establish those connections lost to brain injury.

Norman Doidge is a psychiatrist, and maybe because of this his writing sometimes gets a little...dry. But despite that, the book compels you to continue reading. Three chapters in particular were not boring at all for me: Chapter 2, Building Herself a Better Brain; Chapter 3, Redesigning the Brain; and Chapter 7, Pain.

Chapter 2 is fascinating in that it is about a woman who was labeled mentally deficient and how she not only figured out how to overcome her own obstacles, but opened a school for children in order to help those with learning challenges. Two things I took from that chapter that I've already tried implementing with Puppy are tracing and memorizing. Tracing has been found to help with writing (duh!) by building up those neuro pathways in the brain that control that function. It's a low-stress way of dealing with it, but with good results. The memorization helps kids with poor auditory memory. Puppy has poor memory in almost all ways, but right now I've been reading poems to him at bedtime over and over in the hopes that it will help him memorize them himself, and help him to learn how to do that too.

Chapter 3 is fascinating because of a program that is being used at Puppy's school--Fast ForWord. A scientist named Michael Merzenich developed it to help people with learning disorders learn to read. But as a side effect, it was discovered to also help kids with autism and various other developmental disabilities. Basically he figured out how to rewire the brain using fun computer games that get results without kids even realizing it.

Chapter 7 was interesting because it was about V.S. Ramachandran. He's described in the book as the Sherlock Holmes of modern neurology, and that description is apt. He doesn't like working with fancy technology--he works with what is around him and comes up with startling and amazing discoveries. I won't go into how he does it, but he can make it feel like he's hit your hand with a hammer simply by hitting the table in front of you with one.

Overall this was a very good book. I have a very hard time reading non-fiction and this book was no exception. I start to feel like I'm back in college reading something I have to for a class, so even if it was my own idea to read it in the first place it soon becomes a chore. But I forced myself through it and I'm glad I did.

I don't agree with all the theories presented by Doidge in this book, but I do understand them. Overall it gives me some hope for Puppy's future. But I also worry--there is no such thing as a magic bullet. And even if there was one, do I want Puppy to be someone else? Thoughts to ponder.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan ****

I am loving Percy Jackson! Rick Riordan has really done a fine job of blending the old Greek myths into modern times, and his characters are great. Tyson is one of my favorites, he's such a sweet clumsy kid--who knows how many kids like that are really cyclops in disguise!

In this, the second of the Percy Jackson books, Rick Riordan wonderfully captures the horror of some of the classic monsters: Scylla, Charybdis, the Sirens. I don't know how much kids know of the Greek myths these days, but if they didn't know about them before they'll know about them now. So not only are the Percy Jackson books entertaining, but they subtly inject some classical education in there too.

Rick also makes this a great series for boys and girls by introducing some strong female characters too. At the end of the book you may meet the most compelling one yet.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett ****

I'm not sure what I think of this book. It's well written and the characters will stay with me for quite some time, which for me is a sure sign that this is a good book. But I can honestly say I feel confused by this book in some ways. Maybe I can explore that here.

The Help is about the maids/housekeepers/nannies of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. I have no personal concept of having someone do your housework and raise your children for you, mostly because of where I grew up (further North) and the society I grew up in (I never knew anyone that had hired help at all). So this book was like entering a foreign country for me, one where racism is so deeply ingrained that you would build another bathroom in your house just for the black maid to use.

Mostly this book is about Aibileen, a black woman in her 50's who's job is to clean a white family's house and raise a white family's children, all while not complaining about her foul treatment at the hands of her employers. It's about the complex relationships between these women and the white children they love, and who love them in return. That is until they reach the age when the subtle teachings of their society make them realize that the woman they love is less than human in their parents' eyes.

It's also about the relationships between the white women who depend on their maids, and the maids who make their lives run smoothly. These white women can make their maids' lives hell on Earth, as is the case with Yule May. Or they can try to befriend their maids, and treat them as equals, which is what Celia tries to do with Minny. Either way, the relationships are tense and filled with a protocol that has been laid down by centuries of racism--the maid eats lunch in the kitchen alone, while the lady of the house eats in the dining room alone--both of them eating the same meal that the maid has prepared; the maid is to use one plate, cup, and set of silverware for themselves, and keep them separate so they aren't accidentally used by the white family--but the maid has to clean and polish all the good silver in the house.

It's a bizarre world that existed in Mississippi back then, before the civil rights movement had reached its peak. And it's hard to believe sometimes how far we've come as a nation and as individuals learning to live together.

We live in a strange world. The Help is a wonderful road map of where we've come from, and a hopeful and shining beacon of where we are still going.

The Seer of Shadows by Avi ****

Alright, I'm starting in on the Mark Twain Award nominees for 2010! I thought I'd try to read them all this year, so I figured why not do it in alphabetical order by the author's name? Therefore, my first book is one by Avi (though I've actually read one of the nominees before I realized it: Leanin' Dog).

Horace is a young apprentice to a photographer in New York City in 1872. When his mentor gets a commission to photograph a high society woman so that she can place her picture on her dead daughter's grave, Horace gets his first chance to take a picture himself. But when he does, he discovers a hidden gift--the image of a ghost appears on his photographs. And the ghost seems to be coming to life through Horace's pictures. And she isn't happy.

Written in a way that will help children really get into the past, Avi has told a story that I know most children between the ages of 9-12 will appreciate--it's spooky, yet doesn't talk down to kids or sugar coat the time period.

Not a bad start to the new season of awards!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows ****

I kinda like epistolary novels, one's that are written in the form of letters exchanged between the characters. I read a great one once, Fair and Tender Ladies, that I highly recommend. I also recommend this one.

Not many people in England are very aware of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands, let alone Americans. But it was the closest Hitler got to conquering the British Isles, and it's still amazing to think how close he came. From 1940 to 1945 the Channel Islands were occupied and fortified by German military forces, and the citizens of the islands were subjected to the same atrocities as other occupied territories.

The authors of this book lovingly spin a tale from letters exchanged between a young author in London and the remains of a small resistance group in Guernsey. They didn't resist overtly, but rather by gathering and finding comfort in each others' company and in their love of books, they were able to survive the war.

I believe that we in the US just can't grasp fully what it was like for Europe during WWI and WWII--we haven't been invaded, had bombs dropped on us on a daily basis, or had to deal with the kind of deprivation that was experienced on the continent and adjacent British Isles. The fact that a potato peel pie could be a delicacy to these starving people (the peels made the crust, the mashed part was the insides) is something I surely hope we never have to face here.

I hope you give this page-turner a try!

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A special thanks goes out to my friend Wendy from high school, who suggested this book to me, and my Aunt Patt who seconded her idea! Give me more!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan *****

Yes, I'm back volunteering in my son's school library! I can find out about & read all the cool books for kids, and I've got to say there are quite a few good ones out there.

Now I knew I'd probably like this book from the get-go because it deals with the Greek gods. I remember distinctly checking out D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths from the library at Ferguson Junior High when I was in the 7th grade, not realizing at the time that I would be starting a life long love of mythology. The book not only talks about the Greek myths in a wonderful and interesting way, but the illustrations are the best ever! I think it's one of the best books you can get for the kid in your life (I bought it for myself online a couple years ago!).

Back to the book at hand--Percy Jackson is a 12 year old delinquent who's been tossed around from school to school for most of his life, always causing unexplained trouble where ever he goes. But now he's finally found out what makes him different--he's the son of a god! As he travels across the US on a quest with his new two best friends, he learns what his own special powers are and which Greek god is his father.

As if all that isn't good enough, Percy travels through St. Louis at one point and battles Echidna and Chimera at the top of the Arch!! I love it when my home town is featured in books--it's pretty darn rare to be honest. But having some Greek monsters cross paths with the Gateway Arch--that is just too cool!

I feel like Rick Riordan wrote this book especially for my 7th grade self! Thanks Rick, I feel like a 12 year old again (minus the awkwardness, ugly glasses, crippling shyness, bad hand-me-down clothes...alright, maybe it's good I'm not 12 again!). Five stars all the way!

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates ****

Have you ever read a book where one of the characters hits too close to home, reminds you of a relative or (even worse) yourself & you just have to cringe every time you read about that person in the book? The Falls had a character like that in it for me. I'm not going to say which one it was, but it was damn hard reading about this person because I wasn't sure if I liked or hated them. And I suppose that having those feelings is a sign of very good writing.

The story starts in 1950 at Niagara Falls. Married for barely 12 hours, a young man is running toward the Falls, to throw himself in. You hope that he will be stopped by someone, anyone. Maybe the man who takes tickets on the footbridge to Goat Island. But no one stops him. No one is able to. He succeeds in killing himself, & scaring his wife for the rest of her life.

The Falls is about this woman, but it's mostly about the Falls themselves & the city that encompasses them. Through her story I learned more about the city of Niagara Falls than I'd thought possible. Did you know that the Love Canal was in this city? I thought it was in Buffalo for some reason. And did you know that the people that work in the tourist trade at the Falls are discouraged from telling visitors how many people have killed themselves there?

The story of this woman & her second husband & the family they make together is a history of Niagara Falls, both the city & natural phenomenon. I really want to visit the Falls now, though I also am a little afraid to. The siren song of the water, as described by Joyce Carol Oates, holds out fascination & fear to me, even from afar.