The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico by Sarah McCoy – Book Review

Aug 042010
 

4855883542 aa36c3d9fc m pictureThe Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico by Sarah McCoy
Published by Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House

It is 1961, and Verdita is starting to strain against the realities of her small mountain town in Puerto Rico. She is 11 and not yet a seniorita, but at the same time, Verdita feels very much like she is growing up and needs a degree of freedom and change she cannot find where she is. The most oppressive figure in Verdita’s life is her mother, not for her mother’s actions, but for what she represents. Unlike Verdita’s father, her mother speaks no English, and is more than content in their small town, wanting nothing more than to be with her family. Verdita, by contrast, longs for the excitement of San Juan or, better yet, America. In truth, Verdita dreams of America, especially after interacting with her cousin who moved there and his American friend, back in Puerto Rico for a visit.

“The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico” is a lovely coming of age story of a young girl dreaming of a life different from her own. McCoy did a wonderful job getting into the head of an eleven year old; it definitely seemed a capricious pre-teen was narrating, not an adult. This did make some of the narration and reasoning a bit choppy at times, but it absolutely seemed intentional, or at least a by-product of the voice being used.

I really loved the details about Verdita’s life in Puerto Rico, particularly the section about John F. Kennedy’s visit to the country, and the edges of what Verdita came to understand about the internal conflict in Puerto Rico whether to remain connected to the United States or assert independence. This provided a nice mirror to Verdita’s own struggles with to what extent she wanted to maintain ties to her home or become increasingly independent. McCoy’s childhood spent visiting relatives in Puerto Rico really added a depth and vibrancy to her descriptions and story.

At just over 200 pages, this is a rather short book. And if I have one real criticism, it is that I would have liked to see some elements of Verdita’s life and internal monologue expanded and fleshed out a little more, making it a little bit longer book. It was perhaps a little too brief for me.

This would be a great books for book clubs: it has great themes for discussion, is not too long (for those of you with book club members who shy away from books over 300 pages), is now out in paperback, and even includes a discussion guide in the back.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the author.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais – Book Review

Jul 052010
 

4698120031 3fc4735f83 m pictureThe Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

When Hassan Haji’s mother is killed by a mob in the family’s restaurant in Mumbai, his family flees the country so as not to be constantly reminded of their loss. After a brief stop in England with family, the Hajis move to Lumiere, a small town in France with the intent of opening an Indian restaurant. The town’s primary restaurateur, Madame Mallory, is not at all pleased with this arrangement, particularly as the Hajis’ boisterous restaurant is located directly across the road from her stately restaurant, so she begins a campaign to shut them down.

You won’t hear me say this too often, but I actually think that “The Hundred-Foot Journey” was not long enough. I would have liked to spend more time getting deeper into many parts of Hassan’s young life. As it was, I felt like the story was progressing too quickly from plot point to plot point so that I wasn’t able to spend enough time with Hassan to truly get a feel for him, which kept me from caring as much about him as I would have liked. I really appreciated what an authentic feel of memoir Morais imparted on Hassan’s fictional story, but I wish I could have been made to care a bit more about Hassan and his story.

I also really liked many of the details of food and the restaurant business but, again, I would have liked to dwell on many of these things longer so as to get a fuller picture of it all. Still, the idea of looking at cultural differences and adaptation through the lens of food is a fascinating one.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is an interesting book with a great premise, but I think it could have been improved by being fleshed out a little more fully.

Buy this book from:
 Powells.*
 A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
 Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Inkwell Management.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.
 Multicultural Fiction  10 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – Book Review

Jun 112010
 

4689155179 71227e8dfb m pictureA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Okay, who is that neglected to tell me I should read this book years and years ago? Whoever you are, you are TOTALLY fired.

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is the story of Francie Nolan and her family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Nolans don’t have much money, scrimping and saving to even get by, but they do have determination. Francie’s mother, Katie, is determined to do what it takes to keep her family together and keep them from feeling too much deprivation. Francie is determined to get as much education as possible and frequently loses herself in the world of books.

I remember this being one of the books in the Readers Digest Condensed Books series we had when I was growing up. I know that abridgments are mildly evil, but the books were beautiful and I loved to pick them up. I know I read many of the works out of those books, but I always avoided “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” because I thought the title sounded totally boring.

I really, really wish I hadn’t prejudged this book, but I’m also really, really thankful to Heather for picking this for our Classic Reads Book Club. I loved it. L.O.V.E.D. it. First of all, Betty Smith’s writing is gorgeous and completely evocative of time and place. Besides that, Francie is a girl after my own heart, working her way alphabetically through her local library, getting so excited about schooling.

If you have reached adulthood without reading “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, ” please do yourself a favor and read it as soon as possible. I think it might join “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck in the group of books that I reread regularly.

Buy this book from:
 Powells.*
 A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book I purchased myself.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 Classics  27 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , ,

The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin – Book Review

May 202010
 

4621828725 83bbbc562c m pictureThe Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin

Florence Forrest is a an eleven year old girl living in Millrose, Mississippi in 1963. Her home life is not good – her father is rather scary and mean and clearly involved in the KKK (although Florence doesn’t realize it), and her mother, who grew up in a well-to-do and fairly liberal household drinks excessively to deal with what her life has become. Neither one of Florence’s parents seem particularly keen to spend much time with her, either. As a result, Florence is shipped off to her grandmother’s house during the day, but be minded by her grandmother’s maid, Zenie. She goes home with Zenobia after work, as well, until her father comes and gets her at the end of the day.

Zenie’s full name is Zenobia, named after the Queen of the Palmyran Empire from the 3rd century, a woman purportedly more beautiful than Cleopatra. Zenie delights in sharing with Florence – who most of the time she merely tolerates – the stories of the Queen of Palmyra. Life for Zenie and Florence isn’t particularly easy or comfortable, but they get by. Until, that is, Zenie’s niece Eva comes to town and life begins to get complicated – and scary.

If you’ve been around the book blogosphere lately, you’ll know that almost everyone seems to really love this book. So, I have to admit, my expectations were very, very high when I started this book. Unfortunately, “The Queen of Palmyra” didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was good, and it came close, but it just fell short.

I adored Florence’s character. She was such a real little girl, strong and yet fragile, desperate to be loved. I also really appreciated that she and Zenie didn’t have this ultra-fantastic relationship crossing race and employer/employee lines. Florence loved Zenie, definitely, but that didn’t stop her from occasionally addressing Zenie in a voice of white privilege. And as much as Zenie seemed to feel a certain fondness for Florence, she also regarded her as one more take, one more chore. Zenie watched Florence because she got paid to do so, not out of a deep motherly love. That may seem like an odd thing to appreciate in a book, but I think the close relationship between the young white girl and older black woman is a little overused. Although I’m sure there were examples in 1963 of deeply caring bonds between young girls and their maids or governesses, I think there were likely a lot more were there was simply fondness or the love was only one-sided, and I was glad that Gwin chose to present that more realistic view of their relationship.

One thing I wish had been done a little differently is Florence’s voice and the tense of the book. As was said in the Book Club Girl show with Minrose Gwin, there were basically two narrators: Florence as an adult, looking back at the narrative and, inside of that, Florence as a child. Essentially one might say that most of the book was told inside Florence’s memory. It was as if the child’s voice was a movie of the events and the adult voice the director’s commentary. This was an interesting way to structure the book, but it lent a little unevenness to the writing. I didn’t necessarily notice from sentence to sentence what tense the story was being told in, but when it changed too often within a short period of time, those sections felt rough to me.

Overall I did very much enjoy this book, and I think it would be a fantastic book to discuss with a book club, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectation.

For those of you who have already read this book, or don’t mind spoilers, Minrose Gwin was on Book Club Girl’s show on Blog Talk Radio earlier this week and you can listen to the show.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from Erica at Harper Collins.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 historical fiction  8 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , ,

The Power of Friendship – Guest Post by Beth Hoffman, Author of “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt”

May 182010
 

4603556037 8d1cf465fd m pictureThank you to Beth Hoffman for writing this piece for DevourerofBooks.com. I reviewed Beth’s novel yesterday and, let me tell you, it really made my day when I read it last week. For this post I asked Beth to simply write about what was nearest and dearest to her heart: friendship.  Please read to the bottom for giveaway details.

One of the themes in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the undeniable power of friendship. True friends see our goodness and flaws, strengths and weaknesses, and they love us for who we are rather than in spite of what we might lack. Throughout my life I’ve valued my friends, and among the most important things I’ve learned is that friendships come in all sorts of surprising ways and shouldn’t be limited by differences in age, background, or race.

The formative years of my childhood were lived on my grandparents’ farm. It was a rural area and there were very few kids to play with, so I was raised among the easy, unhurried ways of older women. From my garden-loving grandma, to the widow who lived up the road and created hand-made paper dolls, to the wise African-American cook who worked for my great aunt Mildred, each one made an indelible impression upon me.

How blessed I was to be exposed to the simple yet oftentimes remarkable words of wisdom that came from interacting with women who had lived through decades that encompassed everything from unexpected joys and triumphs to unspeakable tragedies. Those day-to-day interactions gave me a foundation that has held me up ever since. Never have I heard more profound truths than those that were spoken in my grandmother’s big old kitchen during the hot, humid days of canning season.

Then came the day that I entered first grade. From the moment I took my seat in that tiny classroom, I found myself feeling uncomfortable and awkward.  Who were these squealing little people in lace-topped socks and crisp gingham dresses, and what on earth did I have in common with them? I was so accustomed to interacting with older women that the giggling language of girls my own age left me tongue-tied. It took me a long while to adjust to my classmates, and even after I did, I was always glad to return to my grandmother’s kitchen where, as far as I could tell, things just made a whole lot more sense.

When I left my career in interior design and set out to write a novel, it never occurred to me that I would draw so heavily on the simple but rich experiences I had with my grandmother and her friends. But when a little girl named CeeCee arrived in my imagination and her story began to unfold in ways I never would have guessed, the years I spent surrounded by older women gave me the foundation to build upon—those were precisely the kinds of friendships that CeeCee needed during her summer of healing.

An email was forwarded to me not long ago, and as I read it I kept nodding in agreement. I’ve never been able to find out who wrote it, but it sums up so much of what I feel about friendship and I’d like to share it.

Girlfriends

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Love waxes and wanes.

Hearts break.

Careers end.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Marriages collapse.

But …

Girlfriends are there no matter how many miles are between them. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it for yourself, your girlfriends will be standing on the rim, cheering for you, praying for you, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end. Sometimes, they’ll even break the rules and walk beside you. Or, they’ll come in and carry you out.

The world wouldn’t be the same without them, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible happiness and sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still.

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 Author Guest Post, giveaway  14 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman – Book Review

May 172010
 

4603556037 8d1cf465fd m pictureSaving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

CeeCee Honeycutt’s life in Georgia is tough. Her father is technically in the picture, but travels so much he might as well not be and her mother, well, is a little crazy. CeeCee’s mother Camille is obsessed with her life back in Savannah and her illustrious past as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. One day when Camille runs out of the house in what basically amounts to a prom dress, she does not return. With Camille’s passing, CeeCee’s father no longer feels that he can (or wants to, really) take care of her. Luckily, CeeCee’s Great Aunt Tootie comes to the rescue and whisks CeeCee off to Savannah to live with her.

Sweetest. Book. Ever.

Seriously.

So last Tuesday, I was having a terrible, terrible day. Nothing earth-shatteringly bad, don’t worry, but just a whole mess of annoying things, like only getting 3 hours of sleep and having to entertain a baby for 90 minutes while the REALLY flat tire on our car got fixed when we couldn’t just walk because it was pouring rain. So yah, not good.

But then, when we came home and Daniel went to sleep and I laid down on the couch and picked up “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.”

It isn’t every book that can turn your day around, but “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt” did exactly that for me. It is a light read, but not insubstantial; sweet, without being saccharine. Hoffman has skill as a writer and CeeCee is a very engaging character. Not only is it a great book, it was the perfect book for me the day I read it.

I’m so happy that I had CeeCee to spend time with when I was having a bad day. Pick it up and hold onto it for the next time you need a pick me up.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 historical fiction, Women's fiction  14 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok – Book Review

May 122010
 

4586855109 f80e318066 m pictureGirl in Translation by Jean Kwok

When Kim was 11 years old, she and her mother moved from Hong Kong to New York. They seemed to be lucky in their move, Kim’s aunt was already in America and was able to help them get their green cards, give them housing when the arrived, help them find a more permanent residence, and employ Kim’s mother in the factory she managed. Until, that is, they realized that they were paying huge amounts from their paltry paychecks in loan repayment, were living in a dwelling unfit for human habitation (they had to heat the apartment by leaving the stove on), and that they were unable to meet their deadlines at the factory without Kim working long hours with her mother after school. Basically, not at all the life they expected when coming to America.

Luckily, Kim and her mother do have some hope for the future. Kim is an extraordinarily bright girl, and always excelled in her classes in Hong Kong. All she needs is to do the same thing in America, and then eventually she can rescue her mother from this life. Of course, success in school in Hong Kong doesn’t immediately translate to success in school in Brooklyn. First, Kim must navigate the cultural differences between her family and the people around her – and try to translate kidspeak.

“Girl in Translation” is an absolutely lovely novel, as is evidenced from the very first two pages (this quote is from an ARC, and may have changed in the final copy):

There’s a Chinese saying that the fates are winds that blow through our lives from every angle, urging us along the paths of time. those who are strong-willed may fight the storm and possibly choose their own road, while the weak must go where they are blown. I say I have not been so much pushed by winds as pulled forward by the force of my decisions. And all the while, I have longed for that which I could not have. At the time it seemed that everything I’d ever wanted was finally within reach. I made a decision that changed the trajectory of the rest of my life.

lf I had any criticism, I would say that at times Kim did not have enough flaws; she had huge reserves of strength and determination that kept her forever moving in the right direction. Perhaps she wasn’t always good, but neither did she ever really seem weak. However, I could accept her strength because she had essentially no choice but to be continually strong. If she could not do that, she and her mother would be lost under the press of their financial woes and limited options.

Interestingly, I was reading through “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” at the same time as I was reading “Girl in Translation” and couldn’t help but see some similarities: the impoverished family, the father more or less out of the picture, the mother working incredibly hard, the daughter choosing to become educated no matter what the difficulties.

At the risk of sounding corny, this is a fabulous coming-of-age novel about the power of education and determination. Not only that, but the writing is gorgeous and Kim is a compelling character. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 Literary Fiction  15 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,

Paper Towns by John Green – Audiobook Review

Apr 282010
 

paper towns picturePaper Towns by John Green

When Quentin was in grade school, he and his next-door neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman come across a dead body in the park near their houses. That was one of the last times he actually hung out with Margo. He became a huge dork, basically a band geek that couldn’t play an instrument, and Margo became, well, Margo. Roth. Spiegelman. The be all and end all of high school girls. Also a bit of an adventure junkie. Suddenly, just weeks before the end of their senior year, Margo shows up at Quentin’s window and his life will never be the same again.

Okay, Love.

Seriously, why oh why did I wait so long to actually read anything John Green?

The story was super entertaining, if not entirely plausible. The characters were lots of fun, although I sort of wanted to smack Quentin’s friend Ben for repeatedly referring to women as ‘honey bunnies.’ Amazingly, Quentin’s parents didn’t even suffer from disappearing/evil/overly clueless parent syndrome so prevalent in young adult fiction – although there was one point where I was surprised that nobody’s parents had tried to call them.

And then there’s the audio component. The narrator was really great, he did a good job with using different enough voices that I could tell them apart but not so different that he was trying too hard. The only thing that really bothered me was that at the end of each disc there was a little message to put in the next disc and the beginning of each disc replayed the last couple sentences from the previous disc. Super obnoxious when you’re listening on your iPod.

So, again, overall, love! I will be reading me some more John Green, and I’d highly recommend this for a fun read.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book borrowed from the library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 Audiobooks, young adult  11 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead – Book Review

Apr 272010
 

sag harbor pictureSag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

Benji and his brother Reggie are so close in age that, at one time, they considered themselves virtual twins. Every summer they leave their elite prep school where they are some of the only African-American students and summer in Sag Harbor, the largely African-American beach community abutting The Hamptons.

And honestly, there’s not a whole lot more to the plot than that. “Sag Harbor” is a semi-autobiographical novel depicting Benji’s summer of 1985 when he was about 15. He and his friends have some fun – including doing incredibly stupid things like a BB gun fight – work, pine after girls, and generally act like largely unsupervised teenage boys. At the same time, Benji is dealing with the reality of his father’s abusive alcoholism and the fact that not so deep down he’s a big nerd and everyone at his school knows it, thanks to the fact that he talks too loudly about Dungeons and Dragons.

Overall I really just wasn’t feeling this book. For one thing, I wasn’t invested enough in Benji to really care about his summer adventures. For another thing, there were a lot of retrospective remarks from Benji’s adult self who is narrating the story that were never really followed up on, like this example on page 158:

We always fought for real. Only the nature of the fight changed. It always will. As time went on, we learned to arm ourselves in different ways. Some of us with real guns, some of us with more ephemeral weapons, an idea or improbably plan or some sort of formulation about how best to move through the world.

There was just far too much of that sort of thing for my taste, particularly when I wasn’t invested in the book in the first place. The whole thing seemed somewhat over-written for me, surprising for such a short novel. I did, however, really appreciate what Whitehead had to say, through Benji, about the tension between the dominant white middle-class culture that Benji lived in physically and the black culture that he was told or felt that he should fit into.

All in all, not a bad novel by any means, but one that, 90% of the time, didn’t really hold my attention.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book passed on to me by a friend.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

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 Contemporary Fiction  12 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
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