Betty Smith – A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Oh, where do I begin? Remember Cassandra from I Capture The Castle? She is one of my favourite narrators and I believe you'd be hard pressed to find a character as charming as her. Betty Smith's Francie comes close. She doesn't have the pleasure of living in a dilapidated-yet-romantic castle as Cassandra did – instead, she's over the sea and far away in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1912-1919. At the outset, Francie is eleven years old and she's a reader. That's all I need to get that instant connection to a protagonist.

Francie thought that all the books in the world were in that library and she had a plan about reading all the books in the world. She was reading a book a day in alphabetical order and not skipping the dry ones.

She lives with her parents and her younger brother, and despite being a family of slender means, they are cheerful and grateful. Her mother, Katie, desperately wants a better future for her children, and she leans heavily on the two pieces of advice her own mother gives her: ensure that her children are educated ("Everyday you must read one page of some good book to your child.") and save every penny possible in order to purchase land which can be handed down to the children. In addition, this piece of advice from Katie's mother – a first generation immigrant –  is priceless as she insists that the children must believe in ghosts, fairies, and Santa:

"[T]he child must have a valuable thing called imagination. The child must have a secret world in which live things that never were. It is necessary that she believe. She must start out by believing things not of this  world. Then when the world becomes too ugly for living in, the child can reach back and live in her imagination." 

However, while Katie tries her level best to ensure a better life for her kids, her husband – a happy-go-lucky drunk – is a singing waiter whose priorities differ from Katie's. He's the good cop to Katie's bad cop, as he looks out for their feelings and tries to ensure they're happy. For example, while Katie's focused on ensuring her children get educated at the local school where they're treated like second class citizens, he acknowledges Francie's desire to go to a school slightly further away where the quality of education is superior and makes it happen much to Francie's delight.

It's such incidents that make the book a treat. There's heartbreak, grief, and loss, but still, there's always a light shining at the end of the tunnel – a glimmer of hope, if you will. No matter how dire circumstances get, Francie and Katie do their level best to not get completely down and out. It's almost like Pope addresses them in his poem:

Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is but always to be blessed. 

However, there are parts of the book that are bleak and  reflective of the times. One of their neighbours – a young, attractive woman with a child, sans a husband – is mocked relentlessly by her neighbours for having the gall to take her child out during the day. Yes, it's rage-inducing, but then one has to remember that this was a century ago – and, sadly, there are parts of the world today where this is still the case.

Or, how Francie is the one who has to temporarily drop out of school to earn money while her younger brother carries on studying, despite she being the one more academically inclined and he being more than willing to take up a job.

But – I digress.

You'll be hard pressed to find a more likeable child in fiction, and you'll be glad that you embarked on her journey with her as she finds her feet in the world and figures out the best course of action no matter what the situation.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Prince of Mist

The Shadow of the Wind is one of those books that I absolutely loved, and although my second experience with Zafón didn't have quite the same happy ending, the desire to read his works didn't really come to a complete halt. I picked up The Prince of Mist, a book aimed at children, at Greenwich Market, just the other day, and started it feeling quite positive. The Prince of Mist is Zafón's first published book, albeit the English translation came much later. Thirteen year old Max Carver is forced to say goodbye to city life, as his idiosyncratic father decides that the entire family must move away to a house by the sea-side, during the War. It's safer, after all. However, no location is ever mentioned.

The book starts off slow, with the Carvers moving to their new home, which isn't all that it seems on the face of it. In the mysterious garden behind the house, Max discovers creepy statues of circus characters, . Investigating the history of the house, he discovers that the house was abandoned by a couple after their son died. In the shed, there's a projector and some old home-made movies. One of the movies is set in the mysterious garden, and once over, his sister, Alicia, claims to have sene the clown before - in her dreams. Something's a-creepy. Something's amiss.

When Max befriends a local boy, Ronald, the pace picks up. While the budding romance between Alicia and Ronald is one story-line, the parallel story is what grips the reader. When the boys go scuba-diving by an old shipwreck, Max and Alicia learn the legend of the ship, the crew and its story. And the fact that no bodies were found.

Curiouser and curiouser.

The story, in itself, ends with more questions than answers. Some of the plot developments are all-too-convenient for the story, but perhaps that's me being unfair, for it is a children's book. The suspense is built throughout, sometimes a little too melodramatic; a little too hyperbolic. But - perhaps, that's what good fiction is.

I did enjoy the book, and like before, I will actively seek out more of Zafón's works.

Jostein Gaarder - The Christmas Mystery

This time of the year, I like reading at least one Christmassy book; one that propounds the Christmas spirit and is essentially feel-good, and festive. A Norwegian friend of mine fleetingly mentioned how, while he was growing up, his family would read this book together, reading one chapter on each day of the Advent calendar. Intrigued. Curiosity piqued. Specially as I've loved everything else I've read by Jostein Gaarder so far. I did race through this book in two days though, instead of reading it patiently, over twenty-four days. But, in my defence, I *needed* to know what happened next. Clearly (and possibly slightly embarrassingly), Joachim, the child protagonist, has more self-control and patience.

On 30th November, Joachim and his father go into a bookstore, looking for an Advent calendar. They walk out with a hand-made calendar, a one-of-a-kind that the bookseller doesn't quite recognise, and attributes its presence to John, the flower seller, who occasionally leaves things at the store as a thank you.

When Joachim opens the first door of the calendar the following day, not only is he greeted with a pretty picture, but also with a piece of paper that flutters out, that tells a story. The story is of a little girl called Elisabet, who spots a lamb in a department store, and is so keen to stroke it, that she runs after it, calling "Lambkin, Lambkin".

She had decided to follow it to the ends of the earth, but the earth was round, after all, so they might go on running around the world for ever, or at any rate until she grew up, and by then she might have lost interest in such things as lambs.

As she chases after the lamb, she notices the hues of the sky changing, and the clock going back in time, at which she ponders,

...perhaps the clock hands had become so tired of going in the same direction year after year that they had suddenly begun to go the opposite way instead...

En route, she meets Ephiriel, an angel, who informs her that they are going to Bethlehem, to witness the birth of Christ, and the journey continues through space and time. And each door of the advent calendar reveals a little bit more about this journey. More characters from the Bible, including the three wise men, the shepherds and the sheep join the journey, as they progress towards Bethlehem.

While the tales of their travel unfolds, Joachim and his parents get caught up in another mystery - the mystery of the little girl who disappeared in 1948. Could she be the real Elisabet, the girl who this story was written about? Or inspired by? They try getting in touch with John, but he seems to have disappeared off the face of this earth as well, popping up every now and again, to speak to Joachim, but not shedding any light on the mystery.

There are twenty-four chapters in this book, each representing a day on the advent calendar. There are stories inside the story, and advent calendars inside the advent calendar - multi-layered, much like Sophie's World. It's an engrossing, fascinating book. The only flip side was, the mystery of the real Elisabet rushed to a close, and ended almost too abruptly. But, that's a small small flip side, considering all else.

J.D. Salinger - Catcher In The Rye

As some of you might already know, The Catcher In The Rye is one of my favourite books of all times. I've read it, and re-read it, and then read it again. At the age of fourteen, the first time I read it, I fell in love with Holden Caulfield. A decade later, I still love Holden Caulfield, and all his quirks, but I sympathise with him, and my heart goes out to him. At one point, I was reading this book every year - sometimes, even more often. When I started working, my ancient edition found a permanent spot on my desk, and it was just there for me to flip through, on days when things didn't make sense. Eventually, the book found its way back to my bookshelf, and I picked it out the other day, to find some solidarity, and to fall in love with the book and the author all over again.

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.

That's the kind of author Mr. Salinger is to me - I wish he was a terrific friend of mine, for, despite the hypocrisy and despite the narcissism, I can just relate to his protagonist... and, despite popular opinion, that fans of the book are likely to be homicidal maniacs (John Lennon's assassin and Reagan's sniper were both obsessed with the book), well... I've never really felt the need to load up a shot gun, and go around shooting people who annoy me.

The thing about Holden Caulfield is, he's just trying to find his place in the world, where he's surrounded by phonies and pretentious folks. He's been expelled from school, for failing everything but English, and he doesn't really regret his expulsion. Instead, he leaves his school before his last date, and heads to New York, to spend a couple of days on his own, before he goes home to face the music, i.e. his parents. He rambles about life at the school, and then, the book continues with his adventures in New York, as he meets old friends and girlfriends, and reflects and introspects on his life.

He's surrounded by people who talk for the sake of talking, and who have the whole holier-than-thou attitude, which infuriates the living daylights out of him. God knows, I can relate.

He started telling us how he was never ashamed, when he was in some kind of trouble or something, to get right down on his knees and pray to God. He told us we should always pray to God - talk to Him and all - whenever we were. He told us we ought to think of Jesus as our buddy and all. He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even when he was driving in his car. That killed me. I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.

While reading the book this time 'round, Caulfield came across as someone struggling to deal with the real world, and he seemed to be quite bipolar - with his emotions wildly swinging from ecstasy to despondence in seconds.

Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.

I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've, too, if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory.

There's an element of hypocrisy, as he rambles on and digresses excessively, but there's so much innocence and idealism and impulsiveness, that he still comes across as someone you'd want to know in real life. He seems to have no regard social protocol, and finds it tiresome, to the extent that he's compelled to make things up, as and when he feels like... some of which is quite politically incorrect.

Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will.

I'm always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.

I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.

But what really gets me - like, really gets me - about this book is his relationship with his sister, Phoebe; and of course, his sentiments about Allie, his dead brother. When he's asked by his roommate to write a descriptive essay for him on any subject, he chooses to write about Allie's baseball mitt, which has poems scribbled all over.

So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie's baseball mitt. It was a very descriptive subject. It really was. My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder's mitt. He was left-handed. The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he'd have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up at bat. He's dead now. He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946. You'd have liked him. He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. He was terrifically intelligent. His teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allie in their class. And they weren't just shooting the crap. They really meant it. But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody. […] God, he was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair.

How can something like that not choke you up? Or make you melt? Or not make you love the protagonist unconditionally? It's so simple, yet so profound. So plain, yet so beautiful. And then - how can you blame Caulfield for treating the world with such utter disdain, when the world has really not been good to him, and taken his younger brother away from him? I think it's easy to say, "get over it" or feel like slapping him to knock him into his senses, but when one feels like the world is unjust, they need time to grieve and come to terms with things at their own pace. Everyone handles things differently. Everyone's way of rationalising things vary.

And when eventually, the title of the book is explained, it's just... perfect.

"You know that song 'If a body catch a body comin' through the rye'? I'd like — "

"It's 'If a body meet a body coming through the rye'!" old Phoebe said. "It's a poem. By Robert Burns."

"I know it's a poem by Robert Burns."

She was right, though. It is "If a body meet a body coming through the rye." I didn't know it then, though.

"I thought it was 'If a body catch a body,'" I said. "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around — nobody big, I mean — except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy.

There's something metaphoric about the above quote; it's not literal. It's an element of having the urge to save people before they go down the slippery slope - much like Holden's done, but there's been no one to catch him, or save him. And the vulnerability and utopian fantasy that comes to light here is just gut-wrenching really.

I can read this book over and over again, and it's one of those books I always turn to when things aren't looking up, or I'm ruing the state of affairs around me. And it always makes me feel better. And it always restores my faith in people, ironically enough. I don't think I can read this book too many times, for with each read, it just gets better and better.

John Green - Paper Towns

It feels like ages since I've read a young-adult book, so when I read a review of this book over at Claire's (@Paperback Reader), I wanted to read the book. Plus, I loved the cover! Reason enough to order this book after a self-imposed four month book buying ban? I think so. I've read a couple of reviews on John Green's books, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, and the reviews have been quite positive as well, so, unsurprisingly, I had high expectations of this book. Luckily, it didn't disappoint. It was a fast-paced page-turner, with incredibly well-drawn out characters, an intelligent plot, and all-in-all, it was just great fun to read.

The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle. Like, I will probably never be struck by lightening, or win a Nobel Prize, or become the dictator of a small nation in the Pacific Islands, or contract terminal ear cancer, or spontaneously combust. But if you consider all the unlikely things together, at least one of them will probably happen to each of us. I could have seen it rain frogs. I could have stepped foot on Mars. I could have been eaten by a whale. I could have married the Queen of England or survived months at sea. But my miracle was different. My miracle was this: out of all the houses in all the subdivisions in all of Florida, I ended up living next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman

Quentin (or Q), the narrator, has been in love with Margo since forever. As children, they were friends, until they stumbled upon a dead body at the local park. Discovering the dead body changed the relationship between the two nine-year-olds. That night, Margo stood outside Quentin's window, to let him know of the "investigation" she had carried out as to the cause of the death. She loved mysteries and adventures, so much so that, in Quentin's words, she became one. After that night, the two friends just drifted apart.

Fast forward to the future, a few weeks before their high school graduation: one night, Margo re-appears at Quentin's window, looking for an ally on a crazy retribution mission - against an ex-boyfriend and two former best friends - which also includes breaking into Sea World, just for fun! Quentin's grown up to be more cautious and circumspect, whereas Margo's the polar opposite, and during the night out, the two reconnect, and Quentin's convinced that things will be different in school from the next day.

But - Margo's a no-show at school the next day. And the day after. She's basically just disappeared into the oblivion, and no one has any idea as to her whereabouts. But she's left a trail - breadcrumbs, if you like - and it's up to her friends to follow them, for her parents aren't overtly concerned, considering she's pulled the disappearing act before.

This book is about Quentin - and his search for Margo. It's about Margo - and her search to resolve the issues she's battling. But it's more than that for both the teenagers. It's about Quentin figuring out who Margo really is, underneath her ultra-cool demeanour and totally chilled out perspective on life, and eventually, unraveling the mystery that is her. And all this is done with immense story-telling, including observations on paper towns and paper people and Whitman's Leaves of Grass, as well as scattered references to TS Eliot and Moby Dick.

"Here's what's not beautiful about it: from here, you can't see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You can see how fake it all is. It's not even hard enough to be made of plastic. It's a paper town. I mean look at it Q: look at all those cul-de-sacs, those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that were built to fall apart. All those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the future to stay warm. All the paper kids drinking beer that some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store. Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper-thin and paper-frail. And all the people, too. I've lived here for eighteen years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters."

Thought this was a fabulous book, that I really enjoyed reading, and immersing myself in. I'll be looking out for Green's other books, and can't wait to read them, based on this! Have you read any of the others? What's the verdict?

Also, have you read many books which have loads of Whitman references? If you'd asked me two months ago, I'd say no, but - I've read about three books in the recent past (Specimen Days, Paper Towns and Tipping the Velvet) with numerous Whitman references, which makes me wonder. And it's not just Whitman, but specifically, it's Leaves of Grass. Have any of you read that? I'm planning to, but it's been ages since I've read any poetry, and I'm not convinced Whitman is the way to make my way back to the world of poems?

Terry Pratchett - Nation

Don't you love Terry Pratchett books? I do, despite never having read any in my teenage years, and Nation, a non-Discworld story, is no exception. Set in an alternate universe (or a parallel universe, if you like), this is the story of a young boy (Mau) whose homecoming has been ruined by a massive tidal wave, which has completely destroyed his village. There are no survivors, but him; and then he meets another survivor - from a shipwreck. Daphne, a posh British girl, with some royal blood, who doesn't speak the same language as Mau, nor is she accustomed to his kind of lifestyle. As they try getting acquainted with one another, Pratchett exploits the humour surrounding language and cultural differences, keeping the reader thoroughly entertained; be it Daphne cooking for him, or him not realising what pointing a gun at him meant; be it the importance of trousers or the lack of clothes altogether.

As more people seek refuge in the 'Nation', the tone of the book changes. The humour remains, but the book takes a more philosophical turn, exploring ideas of nontheism, as Mau's faith gradually evolves - from hating the gods for taking away the Nation to figuring out the importance of belief. As the two children grow up gradually, the nature of responsibilities they take on, for both - themselves and the people on the island - increases. Mau leads the people as they look for answers, while Daphne learns about breastfeeding, child-bearing and looking after the children of the other women on the island.

I did enjoy this book, despite the last chapter tying things up all too neatly. At the same time, it's important to remember that this is a young adult book, so that should not be surprising.

J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix {Audio Book}

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the popular Harry Potter series. I've read the book thrice: when it first came out, before the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Price, and of course, prior to the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hitting the stores. One of my friends insisted I hadn't lived until I heard the Harry Potter audio books, and she proceeded to lend me six of the seven.

Needless to say, I was a tad bemused when I imported this to iTunes, and saw that the audio spanned twenty-eight hours. Reading the book took about seven hours. Four times more for the audiobook? However, I did finish it in five days, and, I enjoyed every second of it.

Stephen Fry narrated the story, and he did a marvellous job! He handled the emotions, the voices and the arias scenes incredibly, and actually brought J.K. Rowling's book to life. My imagination was running wild with his narration, and I was totally floored. What made the experience even better was, a couple of hours into the book, and I could actually pinpoint the voices, without having to wait for the "Hermione said quietly", or "Harry groaned" which ends most of Rowling's dialogues. Maybe reading the book helped with that, but, I was still impressed.

Order of the Phoenix takes off where Goblet of Fire ended, and the content of the book is much more mature, and significantly darker. At the end of Goblet of Fire, The Dark Lord rises again, and his followers, the Death Eaters rush to serve him again. Harry battles him, and somehow manages to survive - again! He returns to Hogwarts, and breaks the news to everyone, before school ends for the summer holidays.

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry is stuck with his Muggle family, with no word from the wizarding world whatsoever. He subscribes to the newspaper, Daily Prophet, but the front page is always bland and doesn't mention the return of Lord Voldemort at all. Even worse, the letters he's sent by his friends are superficial, with no real news about what's going on. And then - one night, his cousin and he are attacked by Dementors, who he manages to drive away, using an advanced spell. What follows is a note from the Ministry of Magic, saying Harry has been expelled from school, due to practicing magic outside school premises. Soonafter, this is rescinded, and instead, Harry has to appear for a hearing, which will deem whether he's expelled or not.

Within a few days, some Aurors (wizards who fight dark arts) come to pick up Harry and take him to his godfather's place, which is also the headquarters for The Order Of The Phoenix - a secret organisation that fights the Dark Arts, and protects the innocent who might be the target of the Dark Lord. When Harry arrives there, he is informed that the Ministry is turning a blind eye to the return of You-Know-Who, and instead, trying to undermine the efforts of Dumbledore - the only wizard that Voldemort has ever feared - as well as discredit Harry.

Despite the Ministry's best efforts, Harry is cleared of all charges, and returns to Hogwarts, to find that the Ministry has decided to impose its authority on the school as well - employing Dolores Umbridge as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. In my opinion, Umbridge might be one of the most villainous characters in the Harry Potter series (and, in fact, in children's literature). In fact, she makes Miss Trunchbull from Matilda seem angelic!

Not only is Umbridge the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but she is also the High Inquisitor, and with help from the Ministry, passes new rules and regulations, which essentially gives her supreme dictatorial power over every teacher and student at Hogwarts bar Dumbledore.

Harry is miserable back at school, due to the new changes, and tries to find happiness in the smallest things - which, Umbridge revokes one by one. Being the year of their OWL examinations, academic pressure is high as well, and of course, there is the small matter of Harry's scar hurting, and the teenager feeling the same emotions as Voldemort - and, even seeing some of the things that Voldemort does. As per every Harry Potter book, a battle scene is mandatory at the end, and Harry and his friends are forced to take on the Death Eaters and Voldemort once more... with the added pleasure of dealing with Professor Umbridge.

As I've said before, this book is far darker than any of its predecessors. Not only in terms of the magical world, but, also, in terms of the dictatorial regime that seems to be cast over the whole wizarding world. When Harry gives an interview to a newspaper, recounting the events of the previous year, he is handed with a week's worth of detention. Free speech isn't allowed, apparently. Not only that, but, the newspaper is banned from the school premises and, Umbridge has threatened severe action if she sees anyone with the newspaper. All societies, teams, groups, and organisations that have more than three students needs to be signed off by Umbridge - including the Gryffindor quidditch team. And, when Harry gets into a spat with Malfoy, who insults the Weasleys as well as his dead mother, Harry is the one who bears the brunt of the punishment, while Malfoy walks away scot-free.

The fear of losing power (to Dumbledore) is what keeps the Ministry going - not the welfare and safety of the "subjects" of their kingdom. Spies are everywhere, and, no one knows who to is trustworthy, and who will turn out to be a sneak. It looks like Voldemort has successfully managed dividing the wizarding community, without even trying, and at the end of the day, that's the kind of thing he does best : divide, conquer, rule.

Rating : A+ {for Stephen Fry's narration}

Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites

Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites is the third book of the Discworld series, and, it's the first Discworld book that I have read. Equal Rites explores the world where women cannot be wizards, and men cannot be witches. However, when a dying wizard visits a blacksmith, things in the wizarding world are about to change. The blacksmith is the eighth son, and his wife is about to give birth to their eighth son - perfect for the dying wizard to pass on his staff. Granny Weatherwax, a central character, who helps bring the baby into world, takes the baby to the smith, who makes it grab the staff. The old wizard dies, but, what the smith failed to realise is, the newborn baby blessed with magical wizard powers is a girl!

For the first eight years of her life, the girl, Eskarina, shows no sign of magical powers. Once she inadvertently turns her brother into a pig, Esk's parents, under Granny's advice, decide that she needs to go to the Unseen University - a University where girls are not allowed, as female wizards are against the lore! There, and only there, will she be trained to practice magic responsibly.

Esk, of course had not been trained, and it is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you are attempting can't be done. A person ignorant of the possibility of failure can be a half-brick in the path of the bicycle of history.

With the staff giving her the power, Esk takes on the journey through the hills, towns, rivers and valleys of Discworld, to find her place in a man's world, against all odds. With all the child-like rebellion in the world, and the obstinacy, Esk runs away from Granny, attempts finding her own path, but, at the end of the day, she needs Granny's help to take her places she wants to go, to ensure she fulfils her destiny - to become a wizard.

Not only does this book tackle the equal rights debate quite effectively, but what makes it thoroughly charming is Esk's character coupled with Granny's attitude. Esk, brimming with innocence as well as impulsiveness, is a great character, and her adventures are wildly entertaining. Granny, on the other hand, is careful and protective of Esk, while having some of the most humorous lines in the story, and all-in-all, making the reader wish they actually knew her! Oh, and the town the story is set in is called Bad Ass. It can't get much better, can it?

This book can easily be read as a standalone, as it doesn't really refer to any previous on-goings.

Rating : B+

Sophie McKenzie - Girl, Missing

Girl, Missing is a story about Lauren, a fourteen year old, who lives in London with her parents. She knows she is adopted, and when she is forced to deliberate on "Who am I?" as part of her school homework, her curiosity in her past increases threefold. Logging on to a website, Missing-Children.com, she finds an American girl who went missing a couple of months prior to her adoption. The photograph resembles her, but, Lauren isn't sure. Her foster parents are refusing to disclose any information as she isn't old enough, but Lauren is desperate to find out more about where she comes from. And - did her parents kidnap her from the American family? Has she even been kidnapped?

This is a quick easy read, full of suspense and mystery. Yet, my major gripe with this book is a result of the coincidental nature of the events - how things conveniently happen in a certain way, against all odds. Major episodes in the book are superficial and lack the detail that would make them realistic. On the other hand, some things aren't realistic at all. Maybe that's a price to pay for children's books?

The story does bring up some interesting points regarding adoption, and the need to know more about where one comes from. It also touches upon some of the issues with adoptions - specially closed adoptions - and how, occasionally innocent people become a victim of circumstance.

Do you find books for children/young adults occasionally lacking depth? Are there any other books on adoption and adoptive parents that you'd recommend? I find the psychology surrounding adoption most intriguing.

Rating : C

Stephanie Meyer - Twilight

If you love the Twilight books, I suggest you don't continue reading this review, despite the fact that it's going to be a really short one. Nope - I didn't enjoy the book, and worse, I didn't see any point to it. I struggled to page 279, and then, I just gave up. On one hand, I do congratulate myself for getting that far, but on the other, I berate myself for wasting that much time. The saving grace is, I didn't buy the books, but borrowed them from a friend, and she's going to get three of them back completely untouched. So, the "story" in a nutshell:

Girl (Bella) moves to her father's, after her mother re-marries and wants to travel with her new husband. While living with her mother, Bella is a misfit, but at Forks, she's cool, and all the boys at school seem to have a crush on her. Yet, she has eyes on only one: Edward. He harbours a dark secret, which she discovers, and despite that, the two of them cannot stay away from one another.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part was - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Most of the book had me wincing with the cheesy lines, and cringing with the constant Adonis and Greek god references. Yes, I know it's for teenagers and young adults - but, it's so gushy, that, I was literally wondering why I was continuing to read it. Of course, when I came across the below, I snapped the book shut. I'd reached my saturation point:

"What am I going to do with you?" he groaned in exasperation. "Yesterday I kiss you, and you attack me! Today you pass out on me!"

[...]

"No - that wasn't the same kind of fainting at all. I don't know what happened." I shook my head apologetically. "I think I forgot to breathe".

I'm just not going to bother rating this book, as I definitely wasn't the target audience, and it's probably my own fault for seeking it out. Guess it's a love it or hate it book, and I unfortunately fell in the latter category.

Oh well...

Michelle Magorian - Goodnight Mr. Tom

This incredibly poignant well written story tackles various important and sensitive topics, some of which are still valid today, despite the book being set around the time of the second World War.

Set in the English countryside, Michelle Magorian tells the story of Willie, a timid little specimen, who is an evacuee from London, and is made to stay with the reticent grumpy Tom Oakley, who Willie calls Mr. Tom.

Mr. Tom is thoroughly unprepared for the scared nervous creature that's at his doorstep, as he half-expects the evacuee stereotype - the wild ill-mannered children, who cause more chaos than anything else. However, he soon finds out that Will has been continuously abused by his mother, and his small body is covered with sores and bruises. But - the psychological damage surpasses the physical, as Willie cowers at the thought of getting on the wrong side of Mr. Tom, and is petrified of doing anything to annoy him. He also wets his bed, throws up his food, expects absolutely nothing, and tries to shut out the world around him, as his mother has brainwashed him into believing that people will only like him if he's invisible and quiet.

However, Mr. Tom has demons of his own. Ever since the death of his beloved Rachel and son, he had resigned himself from village activities, and kept to himself, grieving alone. Yet, when Willie walks into his life, unexpectedly, he attempts to change, and provides the young boy with a happy home, almost selflessly. Be it clothes, food, shoes, or spending time narrating stories or organising surprise birthday parties!

A children's book, there is no surprise that Will (calling someone Willie sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?) overcomes his childhood traumas, makes friends, works hard, and is a talented artist, under the protective loving care of Mr. Tom - the hero. Yet, half way through the book, Will gets a letter from his mother in London, who is ill, and wants him back...

This story will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. You'll hate the woman that's Will's mother, but you'll wish for more Mr. Toms in this world. You'll mourn the tragedy of war, but cherish the permanence of friendship, and you'll come to terms with life not being fair, but, things having a way of working out - eventually.

As a children's book, this is incredible. Yet, as an adult, I found this book a little too simple, without the raw emotion I'd love to see in a book like this, which could bring it to life. Of course, one can argue that it might not be a book for children then...

Rating: B+

Ann Brashares - The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

This book was recommended to me by a younger cousin, and I figured, it'll be a fun young adult book, which would be a pleasant distraction from most of the reading I've done this year. Also, I was planning on reading a young-adult book for the Take A Chance Challenge #9. Figured, by the challenge's name, I should try a book I wouldn't normally pick up. At the outset, I might as well say that I didn't really enjoy this book. The characters were shallow, the plot not that great, and I couldn't really sympathize or relate to any of the characters. Considering there are four characters, this is slightly depressing.

Reviewing haiku-style:

Not recommended Shallow characters, dull plot, Summer! Says it all.

Reviewing limerick-style:

Apart during the summer for the first time, Four best friends deal with this so-called crime, A pair of pants they swear to share, Through the summer, post it to one another to wear. And, in the end, it's all sublime.

Reviewing free verse-style:

'Tis the story of four friends, who spend a summer apart,

In Greece, at camp, at home, and at dad's.

They learn, they grow, they mature, make choices,

Write letters to each other, echoing their head's voices.

Lena at Greece, with her grandparents who she's never met,

They trying fixing her up with a boy - she starts to fret.

Things blow out of proportion on a misunderstanding -

Lena, filled with guilt, spends her summer repenting.

Then there's Carmen, excited to spend the summer with her father,

Unknown to her, she's about to meet her step-mother,

Anger and fury at her dad, leads her to break a window pane,

She runs away back home, on the first plane.

Bridget is away at a sports camp, where she makes new friends,

Meets an older boy, an instructor, who she wants as a boyfriend.

They're attracted to each other, but can't really date,

But an impulsive decision leads them to await their fate.

Finally, there's Tibby, who's at home, working at a store,

The manager's mean, the job a chore!

She befriends young Bailey, dying of cancer, full of life,

Turns out the relationship they form leads to strife.

As each of their summer takes a turn for the worse,

Almost as though things were cursed,

The pants are in the hands of one of the friends,

Gives them courage to make amends.

And when the friends meet each other at the end,

They remind each other of how the pants were a godsend!

Rating: 1