Archive for the ‘Death is a central theme’ Category
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
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| Author: | Shannon Hale |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, science fiction |
This book is based on the Grimm's fairy tale about a princess who was betrayed by her maid and forced to be a goose girl. In the fairy tale, in the end the maid gets killed in a coffin filled with nails as revenge... I don't know why, but i expected the author to write an alternate ending to this story.
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That all sounds very negative, but i did like this book, because it told the story of someone who was not good around people (she needed to "step up") but ended up rallying many sad people together to save all their lives.
--Fizzy, age 14
Note: As might be gathered from the description of the original fairy tale, the plot of this story involves death, humiliation, and great suffering on the part of the protagonist and her friends. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Goose Girl, The |
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
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| Author: | Wendy Mass |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
I loved this book. It is about this girl named Mia who has this syndrome called synesthesia. Some different parts than usual are connected in her brain, so that letters and sounds have colors (this is real!) Her cat's name is Mango. In the book she learns that she is the "weird" one in her school and has to deal with it, because at first she thinks she's crazy.
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Anyway, really good book: lots of emotions and colors. There is one really sad part, though.
-- Fizzy, age 14
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Mango-Shaped Space, A |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, School | Comments Closed
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
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| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2008 |
My daughter has been censoring my reading lately. She refuses outright to allow me to read certain books, like Brisingr, the third book in the Eragon series and Inkdeath, the third book in the Inkheart series.
As for Nation.... "You won't like this book," my daughter said as she handed it to me. She meant that SHE did not like this book. "I usually would give every Terry Pratchett book I read a 10 out of 10. I give this one a 6, maybe. He is usually at least amusing, even when he is grim. This one is mostly just grim though."
My assessment is more generous than my daughter's. Nation is intense. And contains significantly more mayhem, death, and destruction than most Pratchett stories, for adults or children. And rage at the universe. Along with Pratchett's customary skewering of the silliness of every society and religion he happens across. With, perhaps, a little more bitterness than usual.
I could not put Nation down. And as I parsed each angry word, I thought that if I were Terry Pratchett, brilliant author of unforgettable stories, and I had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, well I would be raging at the Universe as well.
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I did find much that I found amusing in Nation. But it is more serious than Pratchett's other stories for children. Nation is about growing up fast and taking on responsibilities that appear crushing because you have to, because there is no else to do it. It is about tolerating the idiosyncrasies of others because you need them. It is about using religion to get people to do what you need them to do and about whether it is alright to do so even if you do not yourself believe. And, as per most Pratchett books, it also touches on the flimsiness of the differences between civilization and savagery, manners vs. self-control vs. the power to break free of convention when necessary.
So given that my daughter did allow me to read this book when she has physically prevented my putting hands on so many others in the last few months, I will say that we both recommend this book to gifted, sophisticated teenage readers with a good tolerance for death and destruction.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Nation |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, April 13th, 2009
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| Author: | Rogers and Hammerstein |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | musical |
| Year of publication: | 1999 |
X-Men have been, and remain, our favorite super-heroes. We watch the movies; have not gotten into the comic books. Have recently also enjoyed Hellboy. Some of us really admire The Incredibles (but some of us do not).
We must write our homage to X-Men someday. After all, this is a group that thinks that hiding out in a school for the gifted will somehow shield its members from bullies. A creative, if foolish, concept.
Plus, they have both Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman. And very cool superpowers. And great special effects.
We are waiting with great anticipation for the release of the latest X-Men movie, Wolverine. Although, judging from the previews, it's probably going to be depressing as anything. And meanwhile, since we love and admire Hugh Jackman (have started watching Australia), and we love and admire musicals, we sat down and watched this production of Oklahoma.
Plot spoiler alert: plot spoilers follow below... |
As we have pointed out before, Broadway musicals, at least the good ones, are much more than song and dance. Musicals' pretty costumes and music often disguise powerful messages.
Oklahoma is an odd one -- the messages are truly of their original time -- 1955. - There's a guy named Jud. He's got some unattractive habits. (Kind of like the X-Men -- they accidentally kill you with their thoughts, he impulsively brandishes switchblades.) Plus no one normal likes him. (Kind of like the X-Men, huh?)
- Then there's Laurey, Jud's young woman employer. She is not yet ready to commit herself to her true love, Curly, and instead teases Curly by agreeing to let Jud take her to the barn-raising. Teasing is not nice. And so Laurey gets everyone into real trouble.
- There's also a loose woman and the two men who love her -- Will Parker (a cowboy) and Ali Hakim (a Persian peddler, played with an accent that seems to waver between NY and who knows where by Peter Polycarpou). Wow, Persian. Put there in the 1950s. An outsider from the Middle East with enough money to buy whatever he wants, but -- perhaps we shouldn't let our women get involved with guys like him. And yes, Ali Hakim IS Persian in the original.
- And "Why is it that Aunt Eller runs the town? Did any woman wield that kind of power in those days?," my daughter didn't think that was in any way realistic. I speculated about there not being many women surviving childbirth into "old age" in the days before OK statehood; but then, in this production at least, there are a LOT of women -- they overwhelm the wedding scene, for example.
So how DO our musical Oklahomans deal with this bully? (Even if he's one that they've sort of created. Or, maybe he's just crazy and not really their responsibility, just a problem for them to dispose of?) If you are Curly and just want Jud gone, perhaps you sidle over to Jud's hovel and sing him a song encouraging him to suicide. ("Is this FORESHADOWING?," my daughter asks.) And when that does not work, you and Laurey try various other things, all of which end up infuriating the bully further. And then .... Go here to skirt spoilers SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW SPOILER BELOW
You accidentally kill the guy (see! it WAS foreshadowing) in self-defense, stage a trial in a convenient venue, are let off in seconds (since everyone, even the farmers, KNOWS for sure that the murder was in self-defense), and then you get on with your happy life. You settle down and become a farmer. Oklahoma settles down and becomes a state.
What DID we actually think of this version of the musical?
Well, the famous songs are famous for a reason. The choreography is by Agnes del Mille. My daughter found it a bit intrusive. "So now here comes the next DANCE number." Laurey's dream sequence is VERY disturbing. Hugh Jackman does not disappoint. Shuler Hensley, who plays Jud Fry, has a remarkable voice and keeps us vacillating between sympathy and digust for his character.
The filming decisions were odd too. We see the audience clapping after most scenes, and that is ok. And we get to see SOME of the stagecraft (much is made of the revolving stage). But the peeks into the stagecraft made my daughter want to see MORE of the stagecraft, and she came to doubt that we were actually seeing the musical as it was presented to a real live audience. We noticed some shoe changes -- boots to toe shoes to boots -- that we found very confusing.
Should your sophisticated children watch Oklahoma? If they have an interest in musical theatre, absolutely. But, beware: Musicals' pretty costumes and music often disguise powerful messages. And the messages of Oklahoma are -- hmmm -- disquieting. As messages of musicals often are. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (London Stage Revival) |
Tags:Broadway musical, bullies, bullying, cowboys vs. farmers, Hugh Jackman, musical, oklahoma, oklahoma statehood, Patrick Stewart, suicide, X-Men
Posted in Broadway musicals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Music, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
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Tags:1776, American Revolution, consequences of war, Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Independence Day, July 4, suffering in war, war
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Friday, March 21st, 2008
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| Author: | Simon Winchester |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
Simon Winchester does what he does better than any other science writer I know. He starts with one well-known natural disaster. Introduces us to many of the people affected by the unfolding events. Then weaves in information about the geography, geology, history, state of technology, and then puts it all together and tells the story of the disaster. |
In this case, Winchester provides many details about the effects of the eruption of Krakatoa on the air around the world. This eruption also caused a sea-surge, which also killed many people. He also discusses the "top ten" (I think it was ten) volcanic eruptions in history.
This book also provides a great overview of the history of the theory of continental drift, which I think is currently thought to be the cause for volcanism in much of the world.
Obviously, not for the squeamish. But a must-read for everyone else who lives on Earth.
-- Emily |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science | Comments Closed
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1998 |
"The cool thing about Diana Wynne Jones is that we've read many of her books, but her stories are all very different.
She doesn't repeat herself. This one goes from amazing to intense, maybe it's even a little too intense," says my 13 yr. old.
As you can tell, we here are huge fans of Diana Wynne Jones.
We admire the magical worlds she creates and her characters -- human, wizard, and fantastical -- captivate us.
We find the plots of her stories unpredictable but plausible, at least in the magical environments in which they
take place.
Dark Lord of Derkholm is about a planet that is used as a playground by a imperial power, in the person of one
"Mr. Chesney". The inhabitants are compelled to stage elaborate wargames, games in which they and the tourists who pay to
join them risk losing lives, families, and livelihoods. (Lest this be thought of as a metaphor for the American adventure in Iraq,
please note that this story was written back in 1998, before our Mr. Cheney lead us there.)
I have a friend whose brilliant son graduated from college and then promptly enlisted in the military. "Maybe I won't get sent
to Iraq," he told her. "Yeah, and why are they teaching you Arabic?" she asked him. There are young people who need to
truly understand how terrible war can be. And maybe we should try to communicate this to them before they are
old enough to sign on the dotted line of that enlistment contract.
But what about the kids who have already drunk the Kool-Aid? Those who know that war is not a game. Do they
need to know that mercenaries sometimes rape innocent children? That sometimes heroes die in battle?
That those who sponsor the wars often profit vastly from the carnage? Maybe not. But I think I'd have been happier if
my friend's son had thought about these things before he enlisted.
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So, do we recommend Dark Lord of Denholm? Not for sensitive children. Because they will fall in love with the griffins
and the dragons and flying horses and annoying geese and Derk and his human children and then they will read about how
all these gorgeous characters suffer just because they live in a society that plays at war.
Do I think our children ought to read books like this one? Even though they can hardly bring themselves to read on?
Yes. In a country where our leaders feel comfortable cheerfully singing "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" to the melody of a Beach Boys song,
our children need to read about how a downtrodden society can pull itself together and say "No" to war. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dark Lord of Derkholm |
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Saturday, December 8th, 2007
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Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Thursday, October 11th, 2007
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| Author: | Margaret Atwood |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
Margaret Atwood's gift is to write entirely plausible nightmares that resonate to her readers' bones. Problem is, the nightmares she drags us into are so plausible that they do seem to be coming true.
The nightmare we inhabit in Oryx and Crake is an ecological one. Intense, violent, horribly sad. Just what we expect from the best of Margaret Atwood.
A must read.
A bit of a spoiler, below.
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The germ of Oryx and Crake, and yes, in this context, that is a pun, is that at some point, pharmaceutical companies might worry if all disease were wiped out. After all, if no one ever gets sick, then, what would Big Pharma sell?
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Oryx and Crake |
Posted in Conceptual: for grown ups, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: Grown up, Science, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Thursday, September 6th, 2007
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| Author: | Karen Hesse |
| Illustrator: | Robert Andrew Parker |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
"Read this book," my 12 yr. old ordered me. "I'm pretty sure you'll like it. I liked it a lot."
And I did indeed like it a lot. And, I learned a lot about sea voyaging in the late 1700's too.
Hesse based her tale on fact -- there was really a young boy named Nick Young who "appeared" on the roster of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour quite a few months after the ship had left England, but before it had put into any port. Hesse guessed that he had been a stowaway and was discovered once it was too late to put him ashore.
Nick's story is told in the form of his journal entries for the entire voyage, each of which provides a date, a latitude and longitude (in measurements of Capt. Cook's time, which means that if a reader were to want to follow Nick's journey on a globe, one would have to do a little math), and an approximate location in words.
In Hesse's imagination, but perhaps this is truly how it happened, once Nick is free to show himself, he makes himself useful as assistant to the ship's physician, writing tutor, and friend to the Goat and the dogs and many of the sailors.
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Captain Cook proves an adept leader and for many months of the three year journey; he kept nearly everyone on board alive and healthy. But seafaring was risky in those years. There was violence; the close quarters of the ship required stringent enforcement of rules -- punishment was by lashes with the cat-o'-nine-tails or worse -- and Nick does lose many shipboard friends to accidents and disease. My usually very sensitive daughter accepted these sad events because, she felt, they were the historical reality and also because Nick helped us experience them through his accepting (if sometimes tearful) eyes.
Because the tale is told in the voice of a boy, it is not challenging to read. However, Nick does have a strong grasp of sailing terminology and 18th century turns of speech. The glossary at the end of the book and the maps on the inside covers are useful additions.
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Stowaway |
Posted in Animals, Biography, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
