Flashback March 2006

A look back to what I reviewed in March 2006:

Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley. From my review: “Patty Ho is half-Taiwanese, half white. She was born in the United States, but she feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. At home, there is her ultra-strict mother and overachieving going-to-Harvard brother; there are less than a handful Asian kids at school (and certainly no half Asians), all who are “China Dolls” — something Patty is not. When a fortune teller predicts that Patty will end up with a white guy, Patty’s mother decides she can change fate by sending Patty to Math Camp at Stanford. . . . What Patty also finds is what many teens find the first time they are truly away from home — that she has the freedom to not so much reinvent herself as to discover herself. And, that finding yourself does not mean abandoning your self or forgetting where you started.”

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. From my review: “I’m in love. I’ve fallen in love with characters before — I think Will Stanton was my first book boyfriend. And there have been others, like Mr. Darcy. But it’s been a while…. until I met Gen. Oh, yeah, the plot. Gen is a master thief — in prison because while he may be a master thief, successfully stealing the King’s seal, he then boasted about it. In public. Including showing the King’s seal to one and all. And thanks to the boasting, he is now in prison. He’s lost track of time, until the King’s Magus comes to him with a deal: Gen will be let out of prison. Provided he helps Magus steal Hamiathes’s Gift. Gen says yes — hello, it’s getting him out of prison, of course he’s going to say yes — all the while plotting, wondering how he can make this situation work for him. Top on the list, of course, is not returning to prison.”

The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint. From my review: “New School Year, New School, New Home: Imogene has resolved to start over. She’s putting her bad-girl, gang-member past behind her. Everything is going according to plan: she’s made friends with the shy and smart Maxine and she is not causing trouble, no matter what the popular jocks and cheerleaders say or do. Then Imogene meets Adrian — the school ghost. Which attracts the attention of the fairies. Who feel a little threatened by Imogene and Adrian’s friendship. And as we all know, fairies aren’t always cute little creatures out of a children’s storybook. They can be mean. But the fairies have chosen to mess with the wrong girl.”

Sing, Nightingale, Sing! by Francoise de Guibert, illustrated by Chiaki Miyamoto. From my review: “You know how frustrating it is to read about a sound being described, but how you just can’t “get it” because it’s a sound, music, a bird call? Or at most they give you an Internet link that may or many not still be working, and that depending on your connection you may or may not hear? Not to worry: find out what all the birds really sound like thanks to the included CD, with music by Daniel Goyone. It’s birds and music; way cool.“

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. My reviews of the Honor and Award titles for that year. Including my concerns about gender in the books — boys build and swim! Girls cook!

Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher. From my review: “Rob is a talented artist. Right now, he’s using his art as an escape from home. Home has been little more than a house he lives in, ever since his younger sister, Chloe, was in a riding accident. For months, she’s been in a coma. Rob’s talent brings him a job, at an archaeological site that has found something truly unique: an ancient upside down tree. What is the connection to Chloe? And who is the mysterious man, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, and what is his connection to all of this?”

Blackthorn Winter by Kathryn Reiss. From my review: “Juliana, 15, is upset at her parents’ trial separation. Her father had gotten busier and busier at work; her mother is an artist. So her mother decides to move to a small arts colony and pursue her art. Unfortunately, that means leaving California for her mother’s native England, to a small seaside town, Blackthorn. Juliana’s younger brother and sister, Edmund and Ivy, are excited about the move, but Juliana misses her friends and her family. Shortly after the family arrives in Blackthorn, someone is murdered. Juliana decides she has to investigate, whatever the cost.”

Fly on the Wall : How One Girl Saw Everything by E. Lockhart. From my review: “Gretchen Kaufman Yee goes to a New York City high school that specializes in the arts. She’s an only child, rather fierce in her individuality and independence; her preferred art form is comics, her preferred character Spider-Man, and she’s not about to let teachers tell her that that comics and graphic novels are not art. Gretchen is not comfortable around the opposite sex; to her, they are a different species entirely, not quite trustworthy. One day she wishes that she could be “a fly on the wall of the boys’ locker room,” just to find out what the guys really talk about. And the next thing she knows… she is. A fly. On the wall of the locker room.“

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