Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt ****

I listen to NPR a lot in the car.  It's something I've started doing more the past couple years, I guess I'm growing up & want to know what's going on in the world more.  So one day I was driving home from work & they announced a new book for the Back Seat Bookclub.  I'd never heard of it before, but basically it's something I would have liked as a kid--they suggest new books for kids who like to read, & interview the authors.  Okay for Now was the book that day & the interview with Gary D. Schmidt was interesting.  But I forgot all about it when I got home.  As usual.

Then about a week later I was perusing the e-books that are available from our local library to borrow.  I love this very much cause I can't get overdue fees, they just disappear the book off my device!  (I have a chronic problem with getting books back to the library on time.  They've made so much money off me there they must glow with joy when I check out 10 books.)  Anyway, there was Okay for Now in the new arrivals.  And then the little light bulb went off & I remembered the interview & amazingly there was a copy available so I got it.

The story centers around Doug Swieteck, a 14 year old boy living in New York state during the Vietnam War era.  His family life is depressing--his father is an alcoholic, & he physically & emotionally abuses Doug, his older brother Christopher, & his mother.  His oldest brother Lucas is currently in Vietnam, but about halfway through the book he returns home without his legs & his vision at jeopardy.  Doug suffers from the usual adolescent problems, but they're compounded by the crushing responsibility he feels towards his mother's happiness & some other issues that aren't so apparent in the beginning of the book.  When the story opens his family is moving from Long Island to an upstate town called Marysville because of his dad being fired, & Doug's most cherished treasure, a ball cap that Joe Pepitone gave him, has been stolen by his brother Christopher.  As Doug tries to settle in to the new town, he discovers that the local library owns a copy of Audubon's The Birds of America.  He's fascinated by the artistry & is dismayed to find out that 9 of the precious plates have been cut from the book & sold in order to add to the meager funds of Marysville.  And there lies Doug's mission--to make the book whole again.

Overall I think this is a most excellent book for young teens.  It speaks directly to the troubles, both typical & not typical, that come from growing up.  As Doug blossoms in the book it brought me a great feeling of hope in the future, a hope that I'd like to think still comes to kids as they leave those difficult "awkward" years behind.  My only issue with the book was the overwhelming amount of issues that are addressed in it.  For example:  the Vietnam War, alcoholism, domestic violence, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, cancer, etc.  As an adult it was a little much, but I don't think younger readers will be dismayed by them.  Mr. Schmidt has broached a lot of topics that are good to introduce to young adults, & in the guise of an excellent story. 

Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson & Sam Stall *****

Imagine, if you will, that you've survived two tours in Afghanistan.  Now imagine that you're working at a second-rate hotel in Houston as a glorified bell boy.  Now imagine that the GulfCon Star Trek convention has come to your hotel.  And now, to throw the cherry on top, imagine that everybody is turning into flesh-eating zombies.  And there you have it.  The funniest book I've read in awhile.

Jim Pike doesn't want to do any kind of job with any kind of responsibility ever again after loosing a couple men in Afghanistan.  But when the zombies attack Houston, Jim is left in a position where he has to do the right thing--kill the heck out of every walking dead he comes across.  Along the way he meets "Leia", a beautiful Amazon of a gal who happens to make extra money by dressing up as Princess Leia & making movies where Trekkies go off on Star Wars fans.  Also Gary, the ultimate Trek trivia buff; Willy, a member of a local red shirt league, & a massive Klingon that makes custom blades to sell to the followers of Trekdom.  Throw in also his younger sister who happens to be at the convention also, & you've got a rag-tag group of groupies fighting their way out of the hotel from hell.

Yes, you have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy this book.  The constant references to the show are hilarious & on the mark every time.  I kept waiting for the story to fall apart, but it never did.  It remained excellent throughout.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the show (original, Next Gen, DS9, Voyager, even the cartoon), you will not be disappointed.  And I've gotten my new mantra to say to myself when times are tough:

"Now let's put aside your personal baggage and try to think about how Kirk would handle this."

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens *****

A close second to Great Expectations as my favorite Dickens novel, I thought I'd re-read this gem since it's been at least 14 years since I have previously.  A couple things struck me this time, one being the horrible conditions in France for the poor at the time of the revolution.  If you really consider it for a moment, how bad would it truly have to be for a people that had never known another system of government other than monarchy to decide that they didn't care what they got, they just couldn't stand living the way they were anymore.  I know that Dickens wrote with a bit of British bias about the French, especially since England was scared to death at the time that it's populace would rise up against King George also.  I'm sure the average English peasant wasn't treated that much better than the average French one, though. 

Another observation is that the horrible inequality of the haves & the have-nots can be deadly.  It's hard not to compare, just a little, to what is going on in the US right now with the rich getting so much richer while the people with the least are treated more harshly all the time.  The debate as to whether the rich should be taxed more becomes pretty moot when the "huddled masses" are angry & downtrodden.  One quote stuck with me:

Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms.  Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.

No, I don't think we're on the verge of an anarchistic revolution.  But I do think that our politicians need to remember why a certain government benefit is called Social Security--it keeps our society secure. 

The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna ***

Two posts in one day!  Wooo hooo!  I'm trying to make up for some lost time here, since I've been a real slacker recently.  I got a new Kindle for my birthday this year (my old one had a very unfortunate accident that we won't mention...) & I was excited to see that if you join Amazon Prime you can access the Kindle Lenders Library, which means I can read one of those titles a month for free.  Pretty nice, especially since I've been locked out of my library account & can't borrow any ebooks at the moment (don't ask about that either, it's a long story involving fines.  I'm basically a mess right now.).  I didn't consider the titles, just went with the first one that looked decent to me & that's how I ended up with this book.

The setting is 1975 in rural northern Ireland & Jamie McCloone is mourning the loss of his beloved Uncle Mick.  At 41 years old he's rather set in his ways, but loneliness & the demons from his past force him to try to find some companionship.  Lydia Devine is tired of being her mother's keeper.  When an invitation to a school friend's wedding comes in the mail she realizes that finding a date for the event could be the beginning of a new life for her.  Both Jamie & Lydia's lives intersect when their well meaning friends suggest they look at the "Lonely Hearts" ads in the local newspaper.  With a series of comedic-& sometimes almost tragic-errors, the two lonely 40-somethings slowly make their ways towards each other.

The descriptions of loneliness & also of the hideous conditions in Irish orphanages are some of the best parts of this book.  It's painful to think of any child having to go through what the main character does as a child, but when you multiply that by 100's & realize that most of the orphans didn't ever get a forever home like Jaime did, you realize what a tragic place Ireland was for many people. 

I was a little irritated by what seemed to me like the stereotypical accents & typical characterizations of the characters, but that was easy for me to get over as I read the book.  Overall I recommend The Misremembered Man.  Not a great work of literature, mind you, but a touching story about family & finding them where you can.

Goblin Secrets by William Alexander ***

Again my apologies for taking so long to post.  Is it just me, or are blogs just not as popular anymore?  I think Facebook has taken a lot away from them, but in a way that's such a shame.  You only get a few characters on Facebook & there's really no way to adequately describe how you felt about a book on there.  But technology & life go on, & where Facebook now is I'm sure there will eventually be something new.  Things never stand still & change is always going to be there.  I guess I might as well make friends with it!

Goblin Secrets won the National Book Award for children's literature this past year, so I thought it would be a great choice to give a try.  I didn't find it great, but it was very interesting.  It takes place in an alternate world where I have to admit I get very confused.  There are goblins there, but their version of goblins aren't what I think most of us think of as goblins.  They used to be people, but were transformed somehow (it doesn't tell how that happens in the book) & most people fear them.  But they don't seem to do the humans in the book any harm, they simply are traveling performers.  There's a great deal of clock-work characters running around too, which was also rather confusing to me.  I think the most confusing thing right now is that it's been quite awhile since a read the book & I'm only left with vague impressions, & therefore can't really give a good description of what the book was really about. 

Yes, this is one lame review!  But I do hope that this doesn't deter anyone from reading the book.  Like I said, it wasn't bad, just very different.  It's kinda like reading a Tolkien book & entering Middle Earth in only about 100 pages.  Probably good for the younger set, if they can let go of their fetters & just enjoy the ride.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich ***

I finished this book a couple weeks ago, but have simply been too lazy to review it.  But the news coming out of Connecticut today has somehow spurred me into getting this done.  I suppose it has to do with the violence.  How can someone do this to a group of children?  These were probably kindergartners.  I cannot fathom the hatred this young man must have felt for his mother to kill not only her but her students. 

This book opens with a violent act, & as it progresses you see how violence begets violence, fear & hatred.  Joe is 13 years old & lives on an Indian Reservation in North Dakota.  The year is 1988, a year I remember well.  It starts with a boy who is a typical teenager with typical worries & joys.  And it shows how one act of violence changes him, takes away that innocence that President Obama referred to today in his speech.  He will never be the same.
Joe & his father, a tribal judge, are doing yard work on a weekend when they realize that Joe's mom, Geraldine, has been gone a long time for just picking something up at the office.  They get in the car to look for her & pass her coming back home.  But something is wrong.  When they pull up at home she won't get out of the car.  When the men try to get her out, the awful truth starts to sink in.  She's been raped.  A violent & horrible act.  As his father drives them to the hospital, Joe sits in the back seat with his mother's head on his lap.  And his world is forever changed.  He will not be the same.
The Round House is about how we deal with our rage.  What's the correct way?  I certainly don't know.  I know if I were one of the parent's of the children who were murdered today in Connecticut, I'd want to hurt someone.  But what do you do when the one who did the killing is dead already?  There's no one left to hate.  How do you continue to live? 
I will be thinking of those families.  I hope they find peace someday.  I have no idea how they will, though.

A Storm of Swords & A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin ***

Sometimes there's nothing more painful than to get heavily invested in some characters in a book.  When you've been experiencing their lives for awhile, it seems as though they should listen to you, the reader, and do what you feel would make sense for them to do.  You know them, after all, you've been through a lot with them and you know what's best for them.  But do they listen?  Never.

That's been my experience with the latest books I've read of The Song of Ice and Fire.  If these people would just listen to me, it would all be just fine.  Take the other direction.  Or hey, that's not who you think it is!  It's whats-his-name!  Or why the heck can't you figure out what's going on?  I have!  Just hole up in some forest in Westeros and wait for the grand entrance of You-Know-Who.  Cause it seems as though every direction these characters take leads to more trouble.  I'm getting exhausted for their sakes!

And that brings me to my other frustration--the pace became incredibly slow over these past two books also.  Scenarios that could have just been summed up later were laboriously acted out in detail.  It got to where I almost wanted to just skim ahead and see if anything developed.  I didn't, but especially in A Feast for Crows it wouldn't have mattered--nothing really did develop.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I do still like these books very much.  I am heavily invested in the characters as I said before, and I'd just love for them to be ok.  Might not happen ever, but I'd sure like that.  Obviously it's well written in that I sometimes have to remind myself that these folks don't really exist!  In fact their whole world doesn't.

I'm going to take a break from the last book in the series and give myself and the characters a much needed rest.  Maybe when I resume I won't be so anxious for them!