Book Review: When You Find My Body by Dee Dauphinee

The narrative of a lone hiker, Geraldine Largay, who somehow lost her way on the Appalachian Trail was throughly researched and gave voice to the right people. It is a harrowing experience to lose someone in the woods or to be lost oneself. The author gave tips to help people who may wish to experience nature in this way to stay safe. This well-written narrative includes the history of hiking the AT as well as experiences of others who have hiked it. It seems impossible that a series of events that, on their own, would not seem to be at all alarming had complicated the hike of an obviously intelligent and caring person. It is a cautionary tale, certainly. It is also the story of volunteers and rescuers who did not want to give up the search for Gerry, and how the ultimate failure to find her affected so many people in her life, not only her friends and family, but also those who were involved in trying to locate her. This title would be a great addition to a high school library.

Book Review: Company Town by Madeline Ashby

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (May 17, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765382903
• ISBN-13: 978-0765382900
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Are you a science fiction aficionado? I've been reading more sci-fi (or as a character in another sci-fi book pronounces it, skiffy) lately, mostly because of recommendations. I have been so happy to delve into this genre. Take Company Town by Madeline Ashby as a "for-instance." This is a setting where it's almost the present. Or it's the present with a few tweaks. Plus noir. 
In the first few pages CRISPR, oil rig platforms, and sex workers all make an appearance. It's a very ingeniously written noir/sci-fi thriller. Imagine a future where you can enhance or even replace your body-- with bioengineered elements. Better than plastic surgery, these enhancements allow you to access augmented reality. So not only can you be beautiful and perfect, but you can also have secondary powers, and everyone is doing it. But it takes money (doesn’t it always?) and some people just can’t do anything about that-- they’re too poor, or alternatively no one thinks they’re “worth it.” Hwa hasn't had any such enhancements and works as one of the last wholly "organic" body guards. While working for the Sex Workers Union as a protector, she is offered a position that will lift her out of poverty and allow her more autonomy. Part of the twist is that she has to go back high school to do her job (imagine Lisbeth Salander goes back to physics class with a dorky science student). Meanwhile, the sex workers she had been hired to protect are being murdered. And not just your run-of-the-mill murders, either. They all happen right in front of Hwa, which is almost too much to bear. She is determined to find out what's going on, but realizes this is a bigger force than she originally thought.
What's cool is the way the story spins out, the atmosphere Ashby is able to project, and the clever writing and plays on words. It was so fun to read! And there really are oil rig platforms in the Canadian Maritimes, so there is quite a bit or reality built-in to this story.If you like noir, science fiction, and YA, this novel is for you. I'm ready to read more by Ashby!

Howling Wolves-- can you tell the difference?

At our cabin we can hear not only wolves, but also coyotes. There's always a debate about which we are hearing. I wanted to see if I could share this video with you from the WNC Nature Center in Asheville, North Carolina: can you tell the difference?

Book Review of _Rain Reign_ by Ann M. Martin

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin.

Hardcover, 226 pages

Published October 7th 2014 by Feiwel & Friends

ISBN: 0312643004  

(ISBN13: 9780312643003)

literary awards

Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School (2015), Josette Frank Award for Older Readers (2015), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2016), Charlotte Huck Book Award (2015) 

 

 

I'm late to the table on this one. I got an egalley from Netgalley oh, last summer? And I was in the midst of writing my dissertation and having my personal life blow up, so in my defense even if I had read it then, I don't think I would have been able to give it the attention it deserves. That said, let's talk about Rain Reign. 

 

The buzz in education is starting to be about differently abled thinkers. If you wonder what I mean by this, look at books like The Reason I Jump and Look Me in the Eye: My life with Asperger's. We are starting to see that Asperger Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is not necessarily a disability. After all, Temple Grandin achieved a PhD and is arguably one of the top animal behaviorists in the country. I encourage you to think about ASD in different ways (pun intended!).

 

Rain Reign is the story of Rose, a girl whose mother is gone and whose father turns to alcohol to drown his feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. At Rose's school, she has an adult who helps care for her and a teacher who is mindful of Rose and her different world view. In the ensuing months, we get to see the world from Rose's point of view, and once we get that her "strange" behaviors are the result of efforts to maintain control of her thoughts and behavior, they don't seem any weirder than taking a deep breath when we are nervous before a presentation. Rose loves homonyms and maintains a list of them, which grows during the course of the story.

 

Rose's father gives her a dog, Rain, who is the highlight of her day. She spends a lot of time with Rain while her father is at the bar, at work, or otherwise not available (which is most of the time). Rose's uncle becomes close to Rose and is her adult support and family because her father is just not able to interact in a positive way with his daughter. The story really starts when a hurricane is predicted over the area. During this storm Rose's father lets Rain out without a collar to do what dogs do, but Rain disappears and is missing for weeks. Rose is heartbroken. She figures out a way to search for Rain and eventually she does find the dog, but now there's a new wrinkle-- this dog belonged to someone else originally. Rose's father had found the dog, and neglected to check for a microchip. But when the dog arrived at a shelter, they scanned her and realized that Rain belonged to another family. How Rose resolves this and how her family takes care of her is the part of the story that to me is uplifting and hopeful.

 

This book is suitable for younger middle readers, 11-14 years old. The fact that Rose is in elementary will appeal to kids who remember what that's like. I recommend Rain Reign for middle school libraries, and for older kids Look Me in the Eye and The Reason I Jump are suitable for this topic. If you have other suggestions, please add them in the comments section! 

The Use of Color to Convey Mood

Does color convey mood? Although I feel the energy when I see orange paired with red as in this photo I took of my neighbor’s tree, enhanced to see the colors better:

I have no idea whether that is because it’s different than the summer colors, or if it’s truly because of the colors themselves.  I would have liked a little more empirical evidence than a couple of drawings in a book I read on Visual Message Design.That said, here’s a picture

from http://aroundtheedges.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/singing-the-blues/ that was drawn expressly to convey the “blues,” a music form that sprang out of a need to deal with loneliness and despair. And here’s another that portrays the individual energy of Ma Rainey, legendary blues singer:

Note the use of oranges and reds to denote the energy and joie de vivre (http://www.calliope.org/images/blues.gif).

To me, the blue-green-purple colors represent the quiet calm of undersea reef

Not really an aloofness or aloneness, maybe a calmness. A final photo might be this one:

Which conveys a sense of sorrow, hope, and relentless determination all at the same time.

I would like to know more about the use of color to convey mood. Anyone with more information, please post!

All the Wrong Places

Book Review: All the Wrong Places by Philip Connors.
First of all, I want to say that I never read Fire Season, Mr. Connors' first book. Secondly, I am glad I didn't read this during the Christmas holidays, when I was dealing with my own personal anguish. Connors writes a soul-baring book about his own struggles with his brother's suicide, but that's not the centerpiece of the book. The point of Connors' memoir is the ways in which we deal with horrible things that happen in our lives and over which we have absolutely no control.

Connors worked over, under, around, and finally, through his brother's death in ways that were both edifying and self-destructive, but the tale he tells is ultimately that we are all able to deal with even the most horrendous of situations. He talks about his losing his brother, his brother's apparent anguish, his parents' ability (or not) to cope with the loss of their son. This book is honest, brutally so at some points, but I feel that it was a catharsis for Mr. Connors to write. I would recommend this book to older teens and people 20 and up. It's a great read. It is sometimes difficult to read for sure, but a great read all the same. This is a book which has stayed on my mind months after having read it. Thank you, Philip Connors, for the strength to be vulnerable.

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 16, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0393088766
ISBN-13: 978-0393088762

Book Review: The Floating City by Sudhir Venkatesh

 
-->

Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York's Underground Economy by Sudhir Venkatesh. Published September 13, 2013, by Penguin Press. 304 pages, hardcover.   ISBN-10: 1594204160 ISBN-13: 978-1594204166

   Certain authors, when they post new books, catch my attention immediately. For whatever reason, their writing seems to resonate with me, and Sudhir Venkatesh is one. I first met Dr. Venkatesh's work in Gang Leader for  a Day. In that book, he documents the underground economy of Chicago and the gangs who form a major part of it. Recently, I was privileged to read a galley of The Floating City . Although I enjoyed it, the book seemed to only scratch the surface of the topic. Perhaps this seemed to me to be this way because of Venkatesh's frequent referrals to the angst he was feeling about his career and his marriage; I felt torn between sympathy and anxiety because of my work toward a PhD and the uncertainty of this being the right thing for me as a fifty-something to be spending money on-- I see his struggles and I feel that he is brilliant! How can I hope to be successful in my chosen career path if he is having doubts, issues, and personal trials!

     Nonetheless, the book was a great read and a way to understand how people in poverty-stricken areas make their way through the world. It also uncovered ways that bright young people with no outward reason to delve into the dark world of crime find themselves taking part in it. I felt that the personal revelations in the book made it difficult for me to understand what Dr. Venkatesh's original intent actually was. It seemed as though he was using the desperation and deprivation of the people whose behavior he was trying to document as a participant observer to delve into his own needs and shortcomings. Since I can't feel that my knowledge about his personal issues would be at all helpful to him, I'm not sure why it was included in the book and made it more difficult to follow the thread of the narrative.
   
     I believe this book has a place on high school and public library shelves and would recommend it to anyone who would like to understand New York, sociological research, or big cities in general-- both how they differ and how they are alike.