Blackbird Fly, by Erin Entrada Kelly; Greenwillow Press: New York, 2015; $16.99 Have you ever longed and hoped for something you never had? Like blue eyes, or soft yellow hair? Those are the things Apple Yengko longs for night and day. To not come from a different country. To not have a mother who does things differently than other mothers. To be the same as everyone else. Have you ever felt this way? Then you should read Blackbird Fly. Apple Yengko is from the Philippines. She was born there, and that was where her father died. Her mother couldn’t stand to still live in the same place. Too many memories. So they moved to America. Apple is conscious of her looks and how her mother talks. She goes to Chapel Hill Middle School in Louisiana. The kids make fun of her because she looks different. Looking different can either work for you or against you. In her case it works against her. They even put her on a list that marks her ugly. But then a bad mistake is made that somehow helps Apple make new friends and learn that being different from everyone else isn’t so bad. One main theme of Blackbird Fly is that being different isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it’s a gift. It’s OK not to blend in with the crowd. You don’t have to always be the same as everyone else. The author made the passion of the characters so strong. Feelings jumped off every page! It was also a little funny at times. You would immediately feel trust, sympathy, and compassion for Apple. Apple’s mother is always raging about American ways and choices and friends. It makes Apple wonder, if her mom is always talking about how much nicer or more friendly or healthy the Philippines are, why did she move her to America? This book is a cliffhanger and will deeply impact your emotions. The best thing about this book is that you can really relate to the main character. One terrible thing that happens in this book is that Apple’s friends don’t turn out to be so friendly and are really harsh. They backstab her when she least expects it. One time a really good friend of mine backstabbed me and I was hurt. But I got through it, and so did Apple. The things that happen in this book seem so real and you can totally relate to Apple’s good moments, seriously embarrassing moments, and terrible and confusing moments. It makes the book seem so real because things like that happen all the time. All in all, this was a five-star book for me. It made me gasp, sigh in relief, and shudder all the while I was reading it. This book was very satisfying, but also completely and truly shocking in some ways. Blackbird Fly is a fantastic read! Ramsey E. Stephenson, 11 Washington, DC
Book Reviews
Swim That Rock
Swim That Rock, by John Rocco and Jay Primiano; Candlewick Press: Somerville, Massachusetts, 2014; $16.99 If you want a book with daring adventures and even pirates (gasp), then Swim That Rock, by John Rocco and Jay Primiano, would be the perfect book for you to cozy up on the couch with. The book zooms in on Jake Cole, whose life is about to change drastically. After his father’s disappearance/ assumed death, Jake walks out of his house with a motive— a knife with his father’s initials was left in his gate, and he must find the person who left it. He runs into this man, who gives him only the name Captain. Captain is wearing “rubber boots, worn jeans, and a red flannel shirt… (with) black hair… matted across his forehead.” He leads Jake on a semi-legal journey, which earns Jake 300 dollars. But this is just the beginning. Jake and his mother, along with their friends Gene, Tommy, and Darcy, must earn 10,000 dollars in one month or lose their restaurant and move to Arizona—which is most certainly not on Jake’s to-do list. Either by quahogging or by the Captain’s methods, Jake knows he must save his restaurant. One of the best parts of the book, in my opinion, is when Jake almost injures himself to save someone’s equipment—a person whom, chances are, he will never see again. When this guy, Paul, drops his brand-new equipment into the water, he immediately and dejectedly gives up. Seeing this, Jake jumps into the water to help Paul retrieve his equipment, almost killing himself after getting tangled in an anchor line. When Jake retrieves the equipment and gives it to Paul, Paul offers him money, which Jake refuses. Although it may seem kind of weird, as I am a thirteen-year-old, I have done the same thing. While shoveling my driveway, I watched my neighbor struggling to shovel her driveway across the road. I felt a pang of pity and went over to assist her. She pulled out her wallet, and I told her that I wouldn’t take it from her because people had shoveled my driveway for me, so I was just paying it forward. I cried while reading about Mary, the homeless woman. She had lived on the beach for seven years. Once she saw Jake on the beach she called home. She gave him a quarter and told him to call his mother. He originally said he couldn’t take her money, but she forced him to. He turned around to thank her, but she was gone. I couldn’t take it—it reminded me of the story in the Bible where the poor woman who gave a little but gave it all truly gave more than the people who gave a lot but had so much more. After reading this book, I couldn’t help but wonder if there are people throughout the world who are in hard situations like Jake. I know there are, and I hope everything works out for them—short term and long term. This book would be perfect for anyone from the ages of eleven to fifteen. I feel that anyone who hunts/fishes regularly would have an easier time understanding this book—still, though, it is good for anyone who likes strong protagonists who do not shrink in times of danger. Christian Rice, 13 Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Echo
Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan; Scholastic Press: New York, 2015; $19.99 Pam Muñoz Ryan’s book, Echo, weaves together three compelling stories, all centering on a single harmonica and its owners around the time of World War II. The book is long, almost 600 pages, but I enjoyed every second of it. The book presents, in chronological order, three main characters: Friedrich Schmidt, Mike Flannery, and Ivy Maria Lopez. Each story is told with extreme finesse, leaving the ending of each story until the book’s conclusion. A total of three brilliant cliffhangers left me wanting desperately to know more, until the new story swept me up, leaving the old one almost forgotten. Friedrich lives in Germany, where he and his father work in a harmonica factory. When Friedrich’s family opposes the Nazis, they have to escape the country to save their lives. Mike and his brother, Frankie, are orphans, and their worst fear is being separated. When the brothers are adopted, it seems like a miracle, until they find out that their new parent doesn’t even want them there. Ivy and her family are constantly searching California for a real home and a permanent job for Papa. When an opportunity on a farm finally comes, Ivy hopes their new house will help keep their family together. Mike and Frankie’s story was my personal favorite. The brothers were realistic, lovable characters, with flaws as well as virtues. As an older sibling, I can say that their relationship was also realistic. Mike and Frankie had arguments and fights, but there was never any doubt that they cared for each other. I identify with Ivy the most, but not only because she is a girl. She values friendship, has to overcome stereotypes, and loves music. Friedrich was also an interesting character, although his story was the least original. Personally, I think the subject of Nazi Germany is overdone in children’s books, but I was able to forgive the plot because of Friedrich himself. Friedrich was born with a giant birthmark on one side of his face and has always been pitied and teased because of it. He dreams of being a conductor, and his love of music is supported by his father, who plays cello. Friedrich’s narrative was honest and refreshing, and I enjoyed it as much as the rest of the book. All of the characters in this book are drawn together by a single instrument. Friedrich finds the harmonica in the factory where he works, it is a present to Mike, and Ivy receives it from her teacher. However, the harmonica was not the only thing these characters had in common. Each of them lost a home, and each of them struggles to find their new place in the world. And, while their journeys were not easy, each of them finds a place where they belong. I believe that music has the power to bring people together, cutting through age, race, and culture. I play flute, and I have always thought that many instruments working together to create music with different layers is a beautiful thing. In fact, this book reminds me of a piece of music; many stories interweaving, coming together in one wonderful, musical book. Sonja Benjamins-Carey, 13 Ann Arbor, Michigan
Fish in a Tree
Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; Nancy Paulsen Books: New York, 2015; $16.99 In Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s new novel, Fish in a Tree, sixth-grader Ally Nickerson has a big secret that she’s afraid to share: she has always struggled with reading and writing. It’s been the same thing in every one of the seven different schools she’s been to (her father is in the military): her best work isn’t good enough. On top of that, Ally is bullied by two mean girls, queen bee Shay and her sidekick, Jessica, who insult her and call her many awful names, one of the worst being “dumb.” Ally fears that she is dumb, but she isn’t. When Ally’s teacher goes on maternity leave, a substitute named Mr. Daniels replaces her, and something special happens. Mr. Daniels cares so much about every student in his class. Ally eventually learns from Mr. Daniels that “everyone is smart in different ways” and that she has a learning difference that makes it harder for her to read but not impossible. Mr. Daniels reminds me of one of my teachers. Like Mr. Daniels, Mr. Lemaire is kindhearted, generous with his time, and did his best to help each and every student in my class. I can remember many times when I stayed after school or came in before school to work on a range of things, from spelling to writing to practicing lines for our annual school plays, which all of us loved and he directed. In fact, he was the one who introduced me to Stone Soup and suggested good books. Mr. Daniels gave each student in his class a writing notebook and so did Mr. Lemaire. We would write about our thoughts on the books we read, and he wrote back to us every time. I will always remember how he helped me in fourth and fifth grades, and if I ever become a teacher, that’s how I would like to teach. Mr. Daniels wasn’t the only person who helped Ally; her friends did, too. In the beginning of Fish in a Tree, Ally didn’t have any friends. I give her credit for trying to make them, and I was happy for Ally when she met Keisha and Albert. Ally admires Albert for his thick skin. Albert also gets teased, but he doesn’t let it get to him. Almost every middle-school kid wants to fit it, including Ally, but Keisha reminded her that sometimes it’s not good to fit in with the wrong people, like Shay’s mean crowd, and instead, Keisha stands up to them. I think this is good advice, and I believe that it is better to be who you are and not pretend to be like somebody else. My friends are the kind of people that I want to be around. I would rather have my few understanding, true friends than a flock of followers like Shay’s “friends.” If you are looking for a good read that will make you think, laugh, and cheer, Fish in a Tree is waiting for you. Also, reading Ally’s story could be comforting if some parts of school are scary or seem stressful, or you’re getting teased or feeling lonely. A poster in Ally’s school reminded students: “Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is ask for help,” and don’t keep your struggles a secret. It is important to remember that you should never give up. You never know when impossible can turn into possible. Vera Sablak, 12 Concord, Massachusetts
Turn Left at the Cow
Turn Left at the Cow, by Lisa Bullard; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: New York, 2013; $16.99 When I read this book, I realized right away how it got its name. In the first part of the book, when the main character, Travis, is describing the setting of the book and how rural it is, he says, “I stared out the window, wondering how this place could qualify as a state. How would GPS even work? ‘Turn left at the cow?’” The book never refers to “turn left at the cow” again, but I think the title symbolizes that Travis doesn’t know the environment very well and he thinks that there is not a lot of fun stuff in this boring town. So now, you might be wondering, why would Travis come to this town? It doesn’t seem like he really likes it. I should probably explain a little more. Travis’s mom divorced his dad just before Travis was born because his dad had committed a lot of crimes. So Travis had lived with his mom all his life and had gotten quite used to it. Then, out of the blue, his mom announces that she is going to get married and that she and Travis are going to move to L.A. Travis does not like this plan, so he decides to run away. He uses his mom’s credit card to buy a plane ticket and a bus ticket to his grandma’s (on his dad’s side) house in Minnesota. When he arrives, he calls his grandma and asks her to pick him up. She says yes, but she will have to call Travis’s mom and tell her that he is all right. Have you ever not wanted to tell your parents something, but someone says that you have to? I have. It made me worry that I would be trusted less. That is what Travis feels like. But he says OK. This is where it gets exciting. A boy and a girl who live in town visit the house to welcome Travis. They tell Travis a news story from years ago that he never knew: after leaving Travis, his dad had robbed a bank and the money was probably hidden under a lake. The boy and girl are looking for the money and Travis agrees to help them. But what should Travis and his friends do when there is someone else looking for the money? And the other person looking for the money is… I’ll leave that for you to read. Before sharing my final thoughts about the book, let me tell you something: authors do not need to put any romantic stuff in a story. None. If I were you, I would just skip all the romantic parts of the story. Don’t worry; they are not part of the plot. To conclude, I thought that this book would be like Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, which I didn’t really like, but it is in a class of its own. It is like a mystery, but without a lot of clues. At first, I inferred that this book took place in an old-fashioned city because it had weird games like a chicken pooping on a number to determine the winner of the lottery. But this is actually a weird city in a modern time. This book is funny and a quick read. Max T. Smith, 10 Evanston, Illinois
My Cousin’s Keeper
My Cousin’s Keeper, by Simon French; Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2014; $16.99 Do you know what it feels like to be bullied? Have you ever felt left out? These are questions that My Cousin’s Keeper forces the reader to consider. They are questions I never thought a lot about until I read this book. No book can be good unless it has interesting and inspiring characters. There are three important characters in the book. I was drawn into the story by the way these characters relate to each other. Their relationships made the message of the book jump off the pages and drew me into their world. Bon is the main character. He is ten years old. Bon moves in with his cousin, Kieran, and his family and is insecure because his mother is not responsible enough to take care of him. When Bon arrives at his new school he is bullied because he is different. He has a long braid and wears old clothes, which the kids tease him about. Bon’s experiences made me think of my own, and about how children learn about kindness and empathy. We sometimes think that school is just a place where we go to learn how to read or do math. But it is more than that. School is also where kids learn how to form friendships and deal with problems. It is a difficult place for kids, and people who aren’t bullied or treated poorly sometimes forget this. This story will remind kids who have to struggle at school, or even those who have no problems, how important it is to be aware of your fellow students. Not everyone at school bullies Bon. He has one friend who defends him. Julia is my favorite character in the book. I admired her because of her sense of justice and her strength. When you first meet Julia you would think she would want to fit in and not stand up to the bullies because she has a troubled life at home. Her mother kidnapped her from her father and she lives on the run. She is unhappy but doesn’t take this out on others. I was pleased and inspired by the way she defends Bon and acts as a peacekeeper. Bon also uses his imagination to escape the troubles in his life. He imagines himself as a brave crusader who gets help from “Kieran the brave” and “Julia the fair.” His uses his imagination to write these stories and gets lost in another world. Words have the power to make Bon forget about his troubled life, and I have learned that words can give you a sense of power. This was another part of the book that I enjoyed. It reminded me how important books and words can be for those who feel alone and troubled. Finally, when I read the book I thought of something I read when I was much younger by Henry David Thoreau: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.’’ These are words I have tried to live by. They have also inspired me to be different and not to follow others. So if you’ve never asked yourself what it feels like to be bullied, or if you’ve always wanted to be yourself but were afraid, I recommend this book and maybe it can give you the drumbeat to march to your own music. Raiyah Patel, 10 Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
The Way to Stay in Destiny
The Way to Stay in Destiny, by Augusta Scattergood; Scholastic Press: New York, 2015; $16.99 It’s funny how we can adapt to the way we live and call it normal, right to the point where it all changes. Theo had spent his whole life in Kentucky with his grandparents and his dog. But then, in the summer of 1974, his uncle took away everything that was important to him, including his own home. I knew how Theo felt to suddenly have nothing to look forward to, to leave everything behind and start a completely new life. I was born in South Korea and lived with my grandmother. It wasn’t the best way to live, but I had friends, family, and my life right there that I didn’t want to give up. But over the years, I’ve learned that everything happens for a reason and that everything has a story behind it. When I was seven years old, my aunt brought me to America. It took a while for me to accept that I lost the life I knew but was given a new one; I was expected to embrace a new environment, just like Theo. The twelve-year-old boy didn’t have it easy—he had to live with his uncle who was a scarred veteran from the Vietnam War. At first, I didn’t approve of their intolerable behavior towards one another. But as I kept flipping the pages, their relationship became clear as I found a way to relate and understand. Uncle Raymond is one of those people that you have to peel back many layers one at a time in order to reach his feelings. Once you peel back the layers, you can actually understand him. During this roller coaster, Theo discovered that sometimes a change is a good thing. That maybe our early life is just to prepare us for the life that is ahead of us. The characters spoke to me as if they had a real voice that could be heard. And in a way, they did—especially Theo. When his uncle was against the life and hobbies Theo seemed to want, but really needed, Theo stuck with his own opinions and made an entrance to the life he was supposed to live. I love how Theo managed to prove how talents and hobbies such as piano and baseball are not a waste of time. “‘I can’t live without music,’ I answer. I open the piano and play—loud and fast.” If anyone pulls you back from something important or someone you truly love, you just can’t listen to them. The author made the characters, story, and setting seem realistic with small details such as the big pot of flowers by the sign, the annoying green parrots, and especially the emotions I felt towards the characters. In a very short book that many of us can finish within a day, I was left thirsting for more with a sturdy connection to the characters and events; I felt sympathy and other feelings that cannot be described with words. The Way to Stay in Destiny taught me that there will be times when we have to try out a different road in our lives to help us become the people we were meant to be. This may be a book for children, but I believe the lesson inside can be taught to anyone in this world, no matter what age. Eun Bee (Lena) Park, 12 East Brunswick, New Jersey
Playing for the Commandant
Playing for the Commandant, by Suzy Zail; Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2014; $16.99 When Suzy Zail, author of Playing for the Commandant, details how Hanna, our young Jewish protagonist, was shipped with her family to the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, I couldn’t help but remember Anne Frank, whose life after her diary ended was very similar to Hanna’s. But Hanna, unlike Anne (who later died in a German camp), survives the horrible ordeal. How does she manage to live in such a place, with exhausting labor, barely any food, and brutal captors? She plays piano. Before the war, she had been an accomplished concert pianist. At the camp, she is forced to play for the commandant, the merciless warden. It promises her a break from labor and a few extra morsels of food but is just as dangerous as the camp. The punishment for a wrong note? Losing a finger. Any other offense? Death. Staying alive won’t be easy, but Hanna will make it somehow. Thrown into the mix is the commandant’s moody son, Karl, who spends his time slouched in a chair, secretly admiring Hanna. Talk about unlikely love. Zail’s gruesome descriptions of life in Auschwitz are moving and inspiring. Hanna’s first-person narration is a great choice, because it makes the horrors even more vivid and heart-wrenching. When Hanna smuggles a broken piano key into the camp, it is clear to the reader that the key is a metaphor for her comfortable middle-class life back home in Hungary. A tale of woe is transformed into a tale of resilience when it is narrated by Hanna. Yet even more riveting than the details of the killing, the starvation, and the pain are the stories of friendship at the camp. In Auschwitz, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. But where there is dark, there is love, and hearing about Hanna embracing her older sister, Hanna comforting her ill mother, and Hanna being comforted by a servant girl in the commandant’s house is Zail’s way of promising light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout the book, Hanna gradually finds ways to rebel. First, it’s giving her sister a morsel of extra bread. Then, it’s sneaking stolen food from the commandant’s kitchen into the laundry delivery to Auschwitz. A startling (and to the reader, unsettling) crescendo to this is the secret romance she shares with Karl. Hanna is also unsettled by this, and it is an interesting look at how little we can control our emotions. Although Karl’s father is responsible for the gas chambers, the killings, and the horrific cruelties at the camp, Hanna still loves him, though not without a bit of guilt. This concept of emotions taking over is something that Zail handles deftly, never once stumbling on any aspect. It makes for a very readable, beautifully written, hard to put down book that should be required reading for anyone interested in World War II or Anne Frank, and even for those who have never heard of the Holocaust. It mixes pain with love, romance with suffering, and survival with history in a book where life conquers all. Sophie Beatrice Cooper, 12 New York, New York
Mountain Solo
Mountain Solo, by Jeanette Ingold; Harcourt, Inc.: New York, 2003; $17 When I first read the back cover of the book, I was so thrilled. Since I began playing the cello seriously, I have been looking for a book that describes the life and feelings of an instrumental soloist. Jeanette Ingold’s main character does not play the cello, but violin was close enough to get me excited. The author wove such an interesting and emotional story of a girl that I read the book in one sitting. I remember not budging for several hours to finish that 3oo-page book that I just could not put down. Tess Thaler has lived as a virtuoso-to-be since she first picked up the violin at age three. When she is twelve, Tess moves, with her mom, from her hometown in Montana to New York City to attend a prestigious music school for even more vigorous training. When I read that part, I thought of how hard it must be to be separated from your dad. Like Tess, I’m as close to my dad as I am to my mom. When Tess is sixteen, her mom encourages her to participate in a contest for the chance to perform with one of Germany’s finest orchestras. After winning the competition, she makes a debut in front of thousands in Germany. Unfortunately, Tess was not ready; it was her mom’s idea, not hers. Her first note comes out wrong, and that one mistake leads to many others throughout the piece. I think that any person who ever performed on any kind of stage knows how Tess felt at that debut. It reminds me of my audition for a special music school; how I was so nervous my hands were turning all numb and blue, how I could hardly play my cello, and how, like Tess, my first mistake led to another, and another. After her would-be debut, Tess throws away all the glamour, practice, and years of hard work and returns to her dad and stepfamily in Montana without her mom. I would think that many people would not be able to understand why Tess would have done this, but I know. Sometimes, after a bad concert or audition, I feel so frustrated and disappointed in myself that I want to renounce the cello. Even though the absence of violin had left Tess with time to spare, her days were soon filled with finding the lost homestead of a pioneer named Frederick Bottner who, like Tess, played the violin. With her archaeologist stepmother, Tess visits Frederick’s surviving daughter in the hospital and quickly gets entangled in searching for the key to the pioneer’s life. Tess draws the inspiration to pick up the violin again through this mysterious pioneer who lived more than a century ago. She finds out that the people who came to her concert had not wanted to hear her play; they just wanted to hear the music. She also figures out that her mother didn’t force her to do anything. Tess just wanted someone to blame. She denied that she had made mistakes, which everyone does. But by admitting to her mistakes, Tess eventually matures to show us that we shouldn’t be afraid to try again after we slip. Through this book, I learned that the greatness of a musician is never determined by their technical ability or how many competitions they win, but how much love for music that person has. Mountain Solo by Jeanette Ingold is a highly entertaining book that I think everyone would enjoy, musician or not. Sohee Kim, 12 Scarsdale, New York
The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight
The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight, by Gerald Morris; Houghton Mifflin Company: New York, zo04; $16 Medieval times are full of knights in shining armor rescuing damsels in distress from gruesome fates and bringing them back to glorious kingdoms. Almost unheard of are medieval tales with women as saviors. However, Gerald Morris puts a spin on the ordinary Arthurian legend in The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight. Unlike most stories in medieval times, The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight features a girl, Sarah, a poor orphan who, with the help of a few familiar characters like Sir Lancelot, and a few unfamiliar like Ariel the faerie, rescues Queen Guinevere and Sir Kai from the clutches of the evil Lord Meliagant. What I love about Sarah’s general personality is her zeal for fighting until the end and her thirst to prove she is more than “just a girl.” Besides her determination, Sarah’s character has everything that makes for a thrilling story. She is smart enough to outwit those much bigger and stronger than she and has the bravery within her to fight even the most skilled swordsmen. Sarah also comes through for Ariel and Sir Lancelot countless times. As soon as Sarah came to the rescue when anybody was in danger, relief would flood through me for I knew everything would be all right. Sarah gives off a sense of individuality; she is probably the only girl in the land to carry a sword that she has used against innumerable enemies. In fact, many characters think that Sarah’s swordsmanship is what makes her special. The sword itself turns out to be special, which was the one aspect of this story that constantly nagged at the back of my mind as I read the book. Sarah’s sword was actually a magical weapon crafted by faeries. You may wonder how this could be a bad thing. The fact that Sarah possessed a sword that crushes anything it connects with takes away from her heroism. This point aggravated me because, if the weapon was the reason for all of Sarah’s talent in swordsmanship, it would mean she didn’t do anything at all. If you ask me, in a way, Sarah had far too much help from the sword for this to be considered a book about the strength of women. I tend to find that books are more absorbing when you can connect with the characters. This is one reason I couldn’t put this book down. Sarah was frustrated with the world for being so centered on the power of men. She saw no reason for men to be considered stronger than women, and I agree. I, too, am irritated when people treat others like inferior beings for no real reason. Like Sarah, I feel it just doesn’t make sense. I realize now that Sarah probably had an even harder time fighting her way to the top because in her time, a girl saving the day was simply unheard of. Today, it is easier for women to be important, although people who believe women are the weaker sex are not gone from the world. Even though it is better for women now than in Sarah’s lifetime, there still hasn’t been a woman President or Vice President in the United States, a sign that women are still not considered completely equal to men. The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight is a page-turner that receives my highest recommendation. It’s intriguing plotline, beautifully chosen words, and thoroughly satisfying closure make this a necessity on every bookshelf. Eliza Kirby, 12 Ridgefield, Connecticut
Thura’s Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq
Thura’s Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq, by Thura al-Windawi; Viking Children’s Books: New York, 2oo4; $15.99 “In the middle of the night we were thrown out of our beds by some massive explosions,” described Thura in her diary. Thura al-Windawi was nineteen years old when the war in Iraq began. That was also the time when she started a diary, which was later published into a book. In the process it was translated into English by Robin Bray. As I read her diary, I was surprised by how similar Thura’s life in Iraq is to my life in America. We both watch television and use the computer, we both are in school, and we both have a passion for writing. At nineteen, Thura is the eldest of three girls. Although I only have one sibling, at thirteen I’m also the oldest child in my family. Our parents are similar in many ways too. Like my parents, Thura’s mother and father are well educated and value education for their children. Although we have commonalities, we have differences, too. When Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, Thura didn’t have access to a large range of media, while I have an abundance to choose from: television, the Internet, books, magazines, and newspapers. As an American, I am allowed more freedom than Thura was allowed in Iraq. Thura states in her diary that “men are in charge of everything,” whereas in the United States women have much more freedom of choice and movement. A personal difference between Thura and me is that she has experienced war, even though she is not a soldier, whereas I have never stepped on a battlefield, not even as a spectator. Since the start of the war with Iraq, my life has changed in some ways. My parents’ obsession with following wartime events drove, and still drives, me crazy. I could never get away from it, not even during a meal, but since the war, Thura’s life has changed so much more drastically that my disruptions pale in comparison. After the war began, she wasn’t able to go to college. Her father couldn’t work anymore. It was difficult to get food for her and her family and insulin for her diabetic sister, Aula. It even became hard to breathe due to oil fires and smog. The chaos of the war also allowed religious men to force their beliefs on the women of Baghdad, requiring them to wear the headscarf or fear being kidnapped. Under Saddam Hussein’s regime, women could choose to wear a headscarf or not. It was unbelievably tough to live in the wartime conditions. As I read, I wondered how Thura, as an Iraqi teenager, felt about the American invasion. Thura doesn’t care for either side of the war. Like me, she dislikes the fact that the Americans and the Iraqis won’t talk about their problems peacefully. She hates it that men have to go to war and leave their wives and children. She also expresses her distress about men dying in the war and her concern that the women left behind won’t know how to take care of themselves. She does not call Baghdad “liberated,” as President Bush has said time after time. Rather, she calls Baghdad an “American colony.” What I believed to be ironic is that Thura described the Iraqi people’s vision of Saddam as a lion, but in my view Thura has the courage and the heart of a lion for being strong for her family and not hating all Americans for what has happened to her country. Rose Brazeale, 13 Auburn, Georgia
Nothing Here But Stones
Nothing Here But Stones, by Nancy Oswald; Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2004; $16.95 “Bookworm” may be one of the best words you could use to describe me. Ever since I was little I could be found curled up in the oddest places, deep in a story, obviously oblivious to the real world. Reading is one of my favorite things to do, but lately I have been disappointed to find that not many of the newer books have the same quality of writing as the classics. That is why I was thrilled when I read Nothing Here But Stones. When I read the jacket cover I knew right away that this was going to be a great book with writing that I’d love. When I read the first sentence I was immediately pulled into Emma’s body where I watched through the eyes of a Jewish immigrant girl as she started her life over in a new land. It would be hard on any eleven-year-old girl to leave the country she had been born in to live in a country where she didn’t even speak the language, but to make it worse Emma’s mother had died not long before they moved. This left Emma in a new country with no friends, almost no belongings, and a big hole of emptiness in her heart. Through the whole book I could feel the heavy sadness Emma had and could understand it. I had felt the same kind of loneliness once when I lost many good friends. I went from having a big group of best friends (about eight) and over-night they wouldn’t speak to me and would turn their back to me when they saw me. They were dead to me in a sense and left me lonely and friendless for a while. Emma was worse off than I was though. I had a loving family who supported me and Emma really didn’t have anyone to go to. I was glad in the end, when she finally felt loved. I felt happy all over and felt like it was me who finally felt accepted. I loved this book because not only was the story line great, but the author had a way of writing that made me feel like I was Emma. This and the beautiful descriptions she used made the story seem real, like it was happening the moment I read it. Even though all the characters in this story and the story itself were fiction I could visualize everything the author described. I also enjoyed reading this book because the author, Nancy Oswald, accomplished something while writing it, which I have always wanted to do. The mountain she described in the story (where Emma lived) is actually a real mountain in Colorado. From 1882 to 1884 (around the same time the story took place), Jewish immigrants like Emma and her family really did settle there. Today the author and her family own the land the mountain stands on. I have always wanted to write about something in my family’s history or something old, but I have not been able to come up with anything—yet. I enjoyed this book very much and am glad I was able to read it. It has even made it to My Top Ten Favorite Books (a poster I make every year). Nancy Oswald definitely has created a must-read book which I will strongly encourage my friends to read. Hannah Ritter, 11 La Crosse, Wisconsin
