When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
It has been said this book “has a darkness and a depth that pulls you in” (Fuse #8), a subtly ominous mood and perfect pacing (100 Scope Notes). It has been called LOST for the middle grade set (The Reading Zone).
SPOILER ALERT
However, I am reading this on the heels of The Time Traveler’s Wife, so I saw immediate comparisons between that and When You Reach me, not only in plot, but also in the philosophy and the theory of time travel. It is as if Stead read The Time Traveler’s Wife and decided to make a spin off story for middle schoolers.
When Henry (Time Traveler’s Wife) time travels, he arrives naked. So does Marcus. There is no machine à la H. G. Wells. Both Henry and Marcus arrive at a place that was important in their pasts (for Marcus, a place where he often walked and would have chased a boy to his death, had his older self not stepped in). Both books mention other works of literature. When You Reach Me leans heavily on A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. Sure, we can all remember reading one particular chapter book over and over again (for me, it was Matilda), but Stead invokes A Winkle in Time close to the point of annoyance.
So, was I blown away by this book as I thought I would be? No. Not at all. Maybe if I had read it prior to The Time Traveler’s Wife. Can I appreciate that is praise-worthy and all those things mentioned above: well-written, engaging, humorous, truthful with three dimensional characters? Absolutely.
This book stacks up with a book like Neil Armstong in My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me. Great characterization, solid story, but not quite award-worthy. It just doesn’t seem to stand up to the likes of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, which takes previously published stories and stereotypes (like vampires) used millions of time, and yet pulls it all together to make a fabulous story so deliciously all his own. Definitely booktalk worthy, despite its unfortunate cover.
Nominated for the Printz and surrounded by Newbery buzz, I’m sure this one will have some hardware come 2010… then again, I was sure Graceling would too and I was wrong. Hum.
Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Ug! This series is delving head first into the completely predictable. Zoey is turning into a complete ho. And the authors are still using the words like ginormous and ‘rentals (refering to her parents). Now, I’ve called my parents ‘rents in everyday conversation but I do not think using words like ginormous and ‘rentals. Zoey is becoming the type of flaky girl in High School that I couldn’t stand!
The time table is all messed up. Enduring friendships are made within a month. Zoey aquires three boyfriends within less time. People and vamps are getting killed all in a matter of months. What the heck! It seems as though more time should be passing. Instead, one action sequence falls on the heals of another. Nothing marinates. Nothing simmers.
Am I going to read the next book. Absolutely.
Oh, and I love the cover art. I assume it is a pic of Zoey… and the necklace is crystal, in the style that I make. Lovely.
Kristin Cashore Update
If you read my blog, you know I adore Kristin Cashore’s debut novel Graceling and her upcoming Fire (of which I read a galley copy). Head over to the Chicago Public Library for an interview with her or head to Scribd to read the prologue and first two chapters of Fire.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate grabbed my attention immediately. Not only is the cover gorgeous but the early descriptions are lovely:
Our house was separated from the river by a crescent-shaped parcel of five acres of wild, uncleared growth. It would have been an ordeal to push my way through it except that the regular river patrons–dogs, deer, brothers–kept a narrow path beaten down through the treacherous sticker burrs that rose as high as my head and snatched at my hair and pinafore as I folded myself marrow to slide by. When I reached the river, I stripped down to my chemise, floating on my back with my shimmy gently billowing around me in the mild currents, luxuriating in the coolness of the water flowing around me. I was a river cloud, turning gently in the eddies. I looked up at the filmy bags of webworms high above me in the lush canopy of oaks bending over the river. The webworms seemed to mirror me, floating in their own balloons of gauze in the pale turquoise sky (p 3).
This coming of age story follows eleven-year-old Calpurnia, the only daughter of seven Tate children, as her burgeoning friendship with her paternal grandfather opens her mind to the natural world around her and the possibilities therein. But like any women ahead of her time, her evolution meets many obstacles. Kelly takes a timeless subject and excels. From vivid description to the subtle accompaniment of literary tools like alliteration that allows sentences to roll of the tongue, the writing is captivating and beautiful.
If not for an unsettling disconnect, this would be a perfect book. The story is told from the first-person limited point of view – Calpurnia’s. Yet the vocabulary (as evident from my list below) is mature. I don’t know any eleven-year old that wouldn’t have trouble understanding many of the words Calpurnia uses. That Calpurnia would even use them is doubtful, as evident from her difficulty pronouncing ‘prerequisite’ (p 119) and her misspelling of ‘piss’ (p 234). This was my only fault for this otherwise excellent book, even if Hemingway would balk at the vocabulary, I think he would approve of the setting. Of course, just because this is about an eleven-year-old, I don’t believe it belongs in a Children’s Department.
That being said, I could definitely see this book with a Newbery Honor sticker on it.
Here is a list of vocabulary words used in The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate that your students might need to define prior to reading:
pestiferous (p 3), benzene (p 4), chivvy (p9), torpid (p 11), loiter (p 13), envisaged (p 16), torrid (p 17), excelsior (p 18), dilapidated (p 18), consternation (p 19), curios (p 20), malacca (p 24) , laburnum (p 27), morass (p 30), transom* (p 33), cadge* (p 37), octoroon (p 50), aborning (p 58), dissonant (p 62), pedagogic (p 63), protuberant (p 74), salvo (p 76), ostentatious (p 86), petulant (p 88), interminable* (p 89), bonhmonie (p 91), pargon (p 96), daguerrotype (p 117), codger, prodigious (p 118), prerequisite (p 119), inane* (p 142), uncinate, desiccated (p 160), rank (p 167), deference, ensconced (p 172), expunge (p 179), kowtow (p 185), onerous (p 210), veritable (p 211), dross (p 213), distaff (p 218), tumbrel (p 223), quagmire, efficacious (p 230), detritus (p 231), noxious (p 232), aspics, assiduously (p 237), futile, convivial (p 238), cannily (p 240), pompously, rota (p 242), tetchy (p 245), dyspeptic (p 245), futile (p 260), redolent, tarpaulin (p 271), foofaraw (p 287), insipid, odious (p 288), citadel (p 298), perspicacious (p 321), deckled (p 329), tepid (p 330).
(* signifies a word used more than once)
Have your students find pictures of the following:
pinafore (p 3), swallowtail coat (p 4), hackberry tree (p 10), spool table (p 19), Woolly Caterpillar (p 109), spittoon (p 118), vetch (p 160), cirrus cloud (p 286-87)
Play a game with your students: Statues (p 17), Dominoes (p 118)
Discussion Questions:
- What is the Flat Earth Society (p 13)?
- Explain the controversy surrounding Charles Darwin’s Evolution of Species (p 13-14). Has the issue been settled or is it alive today?
- Has there ever been a book you wanted that the Library or your parent refused to provide you with? If so, what type of library was it: a school library or public library? What reason did the Librarian or parent give for not having the book? Do you think Calpurnia is treated fairly by the Librarian when she requests a book they do not own (p 14-15)?
- While pondering the gender of her pet Petey, Calpurnia remarks, “I wonder why human children weren’t given the option in their grub stage, say up through age five. With everything I had seen, I would definitely choose to be a boy grub (p 115).” Why do you think she would prefer to be a boy. Are there any perks to being a girl?
- Calpurnia is treated differently than her brothers by her parents and the rest of the community. In what ways is she treated differently and why? [examples: behaviour expectations (p 145), salary (page 199-200), and Thanksgiving turkey watch (p 264)] How does she react to this treatment? Are girls treated differently then boys today - at school, at home or in the workforce?
- While discovering the natural world, Calpurnia has some hiccups, experiences miracles and at times, is completely grossed out. Track her evolution. Would you have enjoyed her experiences? Relate your own experiences with nature.
Stretch by Doreen Cronin
Along the lines of Wiggle and Bounce, Cronin’s Stretch is a book that begs for movement. You can also use this book with My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Children by Baron Baptiste and Boing by Nick Bruel for an exercise themed preschool story time. I know I love to whip out these titles when summer is nearing and the kids have ants in their pants, itching to play.
You can plan a program around just this title. Encourage kids to bring their swimming boards or a pilates mat so they can “stretch underwater…stretch on a wave.” Use bubble gum to stretch your lungs to take a breath, then blow out. Then you can group stretch!
Betrayed: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Well, I quickly finished book two in the House of Night series. While it unfolded exactly as I anticipated, its predictability didn’t dampen my enjoyment. No. That honor belonged to the repeated use of the ‘word’ gihugic and the overuse of the word ho. Really. Zoey makes fun of Heath, the dumb jock, and then she describes gargantuan (“That’s a polysyllabic word for something large, Zoey. Look it up.” ~Damien) objects as ginormous and gihugic. She can only describe resplendent beauty as to-die-for and the heavily overused gorgeous is ubiquitous. Ug.
There are some good ideas here. There are some well written scenes of loss, friendship, and healing. But the narrator’s internal voice is so ridiculous, I was constantly derailed and found myself skipping those long-winded passages.
But I’m going to pick up the next book, Chosen. It’s like I’m a pregnant women craving chocolate and this series is a bag of mini Reeses Cups. I just can’t stop myself from dipping back into the bag.
Marked: A House of Night Novel by P.C. and Kristin Cast
This was one of those highly addicting but not well written vampire fatasy books that keep you up all night because you can’t put the damn thing down.
Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is Marked (a blue cresent moon-shaped outline appears on her forehead) by a Tracker vampyre while loitering at her locker. In this world, it is well known that some teens are chosen and marked to become vampyres. They are uprooted from their family and friends and sent off to the mysterious House of Night, where their bodies will either accept the change, or reject it resulting in death.
I thought the exposition was well plotted. The introduction to Zoey’s life was quickly but clearly and emphatically laid out so that we understood where she was coming from before delving into where she is destined to end up.
What happens to her at the House of Night feels real: a new school, new kids, new teacher, new expectations. The trials she endures are interesting and unique. I especially enjoyed the mix of traditional vampire lore with Indian lore.
My biggest issue was with the writing. “Heath struggled against Drew, but the kid was Broken Arrow’s senior linebacker, and truly ginormous” (p 15). Did my narrator just use the ‘word’ ginormous? Gag me.
The sentence structure was often weak: “”…I said before I could freakishly talk myself out of going out with the most gorgeous guy at this school” (p 254).
It often tried for humor and missed the mark: “I’d like to know just exactly where she got her clothes. Goth ho store?” (p 278).
Much of these faults, my intuition chalks up to the young co-author, Kristin Cast. Much of this writing is adolescent, instead of reflecting adolescence.
All the same, I’ll read the sequel tonight and hope it continues to excite my interest.
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
I heard about this book from my younger (college student) sister. The gods only know how she unearthed it. Published almost two years ago, Gods Behaving Badly follows the Greek gods living in contemporary London. Stripped of most of their powers for reasons unknown, the immortal family now lives in a fetid house. They are up to their old tricks; plotting against each other and interfering with mortals, causing much grief to the objects of their attention.
The main characters include Apollo, Aphrodite, Artemis, Eres, a plain and kind mortal woman (Alice) who is in love with a plain and kind mortal man (Neil). In a Washington Post review, Ron Charles wrote, “[Gods Beaving Badly] hovers somewhere between Pride and Prejudice and an episode of ‘Bewitched’.” It had moments of super-silly hilarity, moments of theological insight, and moments where I found myself diappointed. Overall, I wanted a more complicated satire. It had a lot of potential, but in the end, this was just a fun beach read.
I suppose I would recommend this to older teens, looking for something outside the YA genre (because, let’s face it, it gets boring reading about the same teen/high school problems) and to adults who have read Percy Jackson and want to read something similar but for adults.
The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
Paris and her brother are victims of their mother’s alcoholism, cruel men and the foster care system. Beaten by her first Foster mother, Paris and Malcolm run away. Finally forced to separate by Child Services, Paris goes to live with the Lincoln’s, where she finds a family to love and a friend at school. When her mother calls, asking for Paris to return home, Paris must first define home.
I immediately drew association between The Road to Paris and Han Nolen’s Born Blue. Both: follow children after being abandoned by their mother, deal with racial tensions, deal with children being separated and with the concept of returning home to a mother, no matter how unworthy she may be. Of course, Paris is a juvenile book while Born Blue is for an older teen.
Both are excellent. Both drew me in to stories that couldn’t be further from my own experiences as a child, and yet made me feel as if I knew what is was like for these kids.
Dog and Bear 3 by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
I was just over at Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s page and saw this - Dog and Bear: Three to Get Ready. Being a huge fan of all her pictures books (but especially Dog and Bear), I am delighted to see book three! Can’t wait to get me hands on it to read to my nephew. It is a Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press book with a release date sometime in Fall 2009. Yeah!
