The Tale of Desperaux
By Kate DiCamillo
This book is an absolute delight. It is playful without being entirely childish, it is has great pacing and yet doesn't rush through it's emotional moments, the narration is charming and engaging, and the characters are lively and unique. This book felt every bit as magical as it did when I was a young child and this surprised me because my memory of it was very vague. All I remembered of it in my childhood was how I felt when my teacher finished reading it to us and how I re-read it almost immediately afterwards. I remembered loving it and I remembered the cover. I hadn't remembered how well this novel balances its darker themes and images with the classical fairy tale elements and optimistic humor. This novel has several redemption arcs that are shockingly well done for it's length of a mere few hundred pages and the ending feels earned, natural, and yet still retains it's whimsy. The images of this story are very potent and memorable too- Desperaux with the red string, Roscuro and Gregory in the dungeon lusting after the tiniest sliver of light, and the mourning king's heaps of soup spoons and bowls all part of DiCamillo's wonderful world building. This was totally worth the re-read.
7.5/10 Cauliflower Ears.
Because of Winn-Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo
This was not worth a re-read. I could only get through about a third of it before I quit. It is slow, frankly boring, and the dog was not nearly as interesting as I remember it being. I hesitate to shit on the narrator as it is a child, and the book is for children, but neither of these things excuses the narration for being so dull. The story delivers on it's promise to fulfill a child's wish of being less lonely, and maybe I just don't have the patience or curiosity any more to hear about how a dog interrupts the pastor and ends up capturing the hearts of the entire town. This book is like the equivalent of cream of wheat for breakfast. This story, the sleepy town it takes place in, and it's characters all have that bland yet comforting taste and it makes no effort to be anything else. It appears to be trying to capture the relatable and picturesque atmosphere of other children's novels that take place in cozy small American towns like Tuck Everlasting and Bridge to Terabithia, but it fails to have an interesting plot and cast to keep the book alive. This is essential. Otherwise, the once endearing setting and cast of characters becomes stagnant. You actually cannot just coast off of a dog being in your book even in children's books. I remember liking this a lot less than Desperaux as a kid and now I know why.
3/10 Southern Hospitalities
Speak
by Laurie Halse-Anderson
This one also let me down a bit, to be honest. It could be that I went in with expectations that were too high as this was the book that I felt (at the time) most accurately captured my young 8th grade voice. This is an incredibly important novel not just for my teenhood but for millions like me. I believe at the time it was published about 50 years ago, it was somewhat equivalent to 13 Reasons Why in that every teenage girl had read it, it wasn't a romance, it covered topics that regularly got it banned from schools, and it legitimately struck fear in mine and other's hearts. This novel does still do a great job at taking it's readers in to the isolating and at times traumatic world of a teenage girl and I will gladly continue to sing it's praises for that. This is the novel that taught me what sexual assault was, how it effects people, and the systems which keep victims from speaking out and being protected. This book is every bit as relevant today as it was in the 70's. However, I hate to admit it but the writing style did really exhaust me and make me cringe and not in the same way that the content makes me cringe. Chapters in this book are given names like "High School is Prison", "Math Class Torture", and "Jocks, Cheerleaders, Barf" and sentences are short and choppy so they can capture the angst of the narrator. I just can't stomach that kind of angst any more and I'm not in high school, so I don't see it and cheer inside to see that someone else has made the extremely original observation that high school sucks. This being said, Anderson does do a great job at describing just the right parts of this world and having her narrator comment on them in such a way that the reader is absolutely thrown in to that depressing, oppressive, and grim reality as if you were back there again. This book absolutely triggered some uninvited memories and PTSD, but nonetheless I am glad I revisited it and I hope teenage girls continue to read it so they can feel heard, understood, and aware of the issues they face as a vulnerable person.
8/10 Tardy Slips
I Am the Messenger
By Markus Zuzack
Oh boy. This was a rough one and easily the greatest disappointment. I Am The Messenger was my favorite book for *years* and I lent it out to anyone who would take it. Between 2007 and 2011 I probably read this book at least 8 times. I was so excited to revisit this and expected to be blown away by the gritty and original story and then I began reading it and about 30 pages in I realized that this wasn't going to be good and yet I still couldn't quit. I had to finish this book because it became a kind of treasure hunt to see just how much of this book was able to indoctrinate me in to believing Ed is a relatable hero when he is really an incel on a quest to finally finally convince his friend to have sex with him. Ed is not an every day loser dude that redeems himself as a hero for doing meaningful deeds for complete strangers. He may help Old Man Patty with his church, he may save a woman from being raped, and he may help his friend see his daughter, but these actual good deeds make up only half of what's actually going on. Most of the deeds Ed carries out are not actually kind or helpful at all, but merely serve to make him seem like a badass or allow for him to continue to hit on and fantasize about a 14 year old girl and her angel legs (ED IS 19 BY THE WAY). Not one single woman is introduced or interacted with in this book without mention of or elaboration on her sex appeal. Ed even sexualizes his own mother which, indeed, has more layers to it now than it did when I read this in my youth. Even the ending, which I remembered being overwhelmingly heartwarming and satisfying as you finally get to unravel the grand mystery behind the cards, is completely unbelievable and still is only meaningful to Ed because he gets laid. His finishing statement is literally "look, anyone can do this. If a loser like me can get this hot chick and have her legs prepare me waffles for breakfast every morning, so can you. Maybe there are more cards out there. I am not the messenger. I am the message". I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I preferred it's clear spiritual successor- Ready Player One.
Gross. Still, a couple of the deeds were fulfilling to watch unfold, Marv is still an interesting character, and the pacing is extremely good. So I guess I can't give it a zero.
3/10 Aces in the Mail
Loser
by Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli and Cornelia Funke were my favorite authors as a kid. I am purposefully saving Maniac Magee for last, but I decided to begin my revisiting Spinelli with Loser because it is the one I remembered the least. Loser was wonderful. I've always loved the way Spinelli weaves childhood in to this legendary and mythical thing where everything is so grandiose and yet never overindulgent, never angsty or dragged down in nostalgia, never childish or kitschy like Captain Undepants or Dear Dumb Diary. Spinelli writes childhood with dignity and I love this. I love the way he describes boys running in the streets like wild dogs figuring out where they stand- he paints these scenes and images in only a page or two but his prose is stunning. Loser was brief, incredible, and reignited my love for Spinelli's ability to bring the roaring heart of childhood out in to focus in storytelling- everything is big, everything is meaningful, and all of these images in childhood are tones of home. Every moment in Spinelli's novels are indicative of some great triumph, realization, struggle, or despair in his characters. There is absolutely no wasted space or filler, and Loser is no exception. The conclusion of this book unleashed a cheer in my heart. God bless you Donald Zinkoff. May you always be exploring this world with unbridled love and clumsiness.
9/10 Giraffe Hats
Milkweed
by Jerry Spinelli
Naturally, this novel is quite a bit heavier than Spinelli's other books. This one is basically Ellie Weisel's "Night" for children. The horror and hopelessness of the holocaust are not shied away from and children do die in this. So much of this novel stuck with me growing up and the potent visuals were every bit as scary, enchanting, and meaningful as they were when I first read it around 2005. Even though I know as an adult that everything in these novels were real parts of history, still it is written in such a way that it never gets "gritty" but stays in that frightening realm of childhood enchantment and horror- everything from the Jackboots to the merry-go-round to the happiness oranges feels so prophetic and fleshes out both the story and the world in a way I truly don't think anyone but Spinelli can do. The story is not about the holocaust though, and because the protagonist is a child, you as a reader must navigate everything presented to you much as he did- all at once with bewilderment, acceptance, and an awe for the still present love and joy Jacob finds throughout the story. This book is a flickering candle light in a dark room. It is incredibly intimate, astoundingly written, and still engaging as ever. Every character in Milkweed breathes life and purpose in to this story about childhood during the despair and destruction of WWII Europe.
10/10 Gypsy Combs
Varjak Paw
by SF Said
Fuuuuuucking dope and legitimately thrilling.
8/10 Sally Bones
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
I didn't like this book as a kid. I remember that it didn't frighten me, exactly, but it did leave me with an unnerving feeling I didn't like. I decided to revisit it because I know now, as an adult, that it is super influential and touches on one of my most steadfast of beliefs that my husband and I will never agree on- immortality is a terrifying curse. Yep. This book delivered. One thing I really appreciated but didn't expect was that the book takes the time to make us sympathize with and believe the motives of the narrator for her choice regarding the stream. I'm just going to say it. Tuck Everlasting is the way way way better Twilight. Where Twilight turns from the infinite potential to unravel it's own philosophy, Tuck Everlasting expertly navigates it such that children can understand the main conceits and adults can jump off from it and scare themselves. The testimonies of the Tuck's will haunt me until I (hopefully) die. The book is short and doesn't need to be any longer than it is. It is god damned incredible that it manages to produce so much with so few pages- and not just philosophy either, but believable and fleshed out characters and a setting as well. The book could have been simpler than it is and still be great- but I love that it explore's the Tuck family's desire to keep the spring away from the public and the conflict this morality has with capitalism. Turns out, child me was possibly more frightened of this book then she understood.
9/10
Inkheart
by Cornelia Funke
This book is way too long. I legitimately do not understand why this is the one that made Funke famous in North America. I am forced to believe that it has to be because this novel jerks off people who like to read, constantly praising you for being a reader and showing you this huge cast of characters who drool over books and are way more endearing, interesting, and good-hearted than the villains in this book who are (SHOCKING) illiterate. While some of the ideas in this book are cool, it is essentially 500 pages of vague magic stuff happening, Funke jerking you off, the same capture and escape happening twice, and a good ending I guess. This one really was a chore. The only reason I didn't quit is because Dustfinger is a delight and every once and a while he would pop up. I have no idea how this book spawned a trilogy and a movie with Brendan Fraser. It doesn't hold up at all.
4/10 Horned Weasels
The Thief Lord
by Cornelia Funke
Dragon Rider
The Akhenaten Adventure
Looking For Alaska
Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
By Kate DiCamillo
7.5/10 Cauliflower Ears.
Because of Winn-Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo
3/10 Southern Hospitalities
Speak
by Laurie Halse-Anderson
8/10 Tardy Slips
I Am the Messenger
By Markus Zuzack
Oh boy. This was a rough one and easily the greatest disappointment. I Am The Messenger was my favorite book for *years* and I lent it out to anyone who would take it. Between 2007 and 2011 I probably read this book at least 8 times. I was so excited to revisit this and expected to be blown away by the gritty and original story and then I began reading it and about 30 pages in I realized that this wasn't going to be good and yet I still couldn't quit. I had to finish this book because it became a kind of treasure hunt to see just how much of this book was able to indoctrinate me in to believing Ed is a relatable hero when he is really an incel on a quest to finally finally convince his friend to have sex with him. Ed is not an every day loser dude that redeems himself as a hero for doing meaningful deeds for complete strangers. He may help Old Man Patty with his church, he may save a woman from being raped, and he may help his friend see his daughter, but these actual good deeds make up only half of what's actually going on. Most of the deeds Ed carries out are not actually kind or helpful at all, but merely serve to make him seem like a badass or allow for him to continue to hit on and fantasize about a 14 year old girl and her angel legs (ED IS 19 BY THE WAY). Not one single woman is introduced or interacted with in this book without mention of or elaboration on her sex appeal. Ed even sexualizes his own mother which, indeed, has more layers to it now than it did when I read this in my youth. Even the ending, which I remembered being overwhelmingly heartwarming and satisfying as you finally get to unravel the grand mystery behind the cards, is completely unbelievable and still is only meaningful to Ed because he gets laid. His finishing statement is literally "look, anyone can do this. If a loser like me can get this hot chick and have her legs prepare me waffles for breakfast every morning, so can you. Maybe there are more cards out there. I am not the messenger. I am the message". I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I preferred it's clear spiritual successor- Ready Player One.Gross. Still, a couple of the deeds were fulfilling to watch unfold, Marv is still an interesting character, and the pacing is extremely good. So I guess I can't give it a zero.
3/10 Aces in the Mail
Loser
by Jerry Spinelli
9/10 Giraffe Hats
Milkweed
by Jerry Spinelli
Naturally, this novel is quite a bit heavier than Spinelli's other books. This one is basically Ellie Weisel's "Night" for children. The horror and hopelessness of the holocaust are not shied away from and children do die in this. So much of this novel stuck with me growing up and the potent visuals were every bit as scary, enchanting, and meaningful as they were when I first read it around 2005. Even though I know as an adult that everything in these novels were real parts of history, still it is written in such a way that it never gets "gritty" but stays in that frightening realm of childhood enchantment and horror- everything from the Jackboots to the merry-go-round to the happiness oranges feels so prophetic and fleshes out both the story and the world in a way I truly don't think anyone but Spinelli can do. The story is not about the holocaust though, and because the protagonist is a child, you as a reader must navigate everything presented to you much as he did- all at once with bewilderment, acceptance, and an awe for the still present love and joy Jacob finds throughout the story. This book is a flickering candle light in a dark room. It is incredibly intimate, astoundingly written, and still engaging as ever. Every character in Milkweed breathes life and purpose in to this story about childhood during the despair and destruction of WWII Europe.10/10 Gypsy Combs
Varjak Paw
by SF Said
8/10 Sally Bones
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
9/10
Inkheart
by Cornelia Funke
4/10 Horned Weasels
The Thief Lord
by Cornelia Funke
I liked this one. This novel evokes familiarity and warmth with its characters and setting with such ease and it was a breeze to read through. The ending dragged on a bit, but as a whole this was well worth re-reading. As a child, I wasn't able to fully understand Victor and his character arc but it was wonderful to read it now. Every one of the characters behaves believably like a child but still with the dignity they deserve- Scipio, Prosper, and Hornet are done wonderfully and the setting they interact with is absolutely enchanting. I love the idea of a prematurely adult Scipio being out there and I found that idea and image enduring and it stuck with me long after I finished the book.
7/10 Fancy Sugar Tongs
by Cornelia Funke
When I decided to go on a nostalgic journey through all my favourite books as a kid, I realised that there were an incredible amount of dragon-themed novels that were really popular around that time. I read most of them and I distinctly remember how exciting it was to find new ones. They were a huge thing in the late 90's and early 2000's! Honorable mentions include "Hatching Magic", "The Fire Within" series, and of course "Eragon". However, I have no desire to revisit any of these. Dragon Rider is the only one that I felt any nostalgic pull towards revisiting, and I'm really glad I did. The huge host of characters in this novel are all wonderfully fleshed out and the adventure narrative is just as cozy and exciting as it was when I was a child. Was it often predictable? Yes. Was the happy ending extremely cheezy? Yes. Did I smile the entire time reading it? Yes. This book is so comforting and enchanting to read. Every step of the way, the adventure is engrossing and vividly entertaining. Though Firedrake himself is a pretty nothing character, Sorrel more than makes up for it. A real strength of this book over the myriad of other dragon books of its time is that it doesn't waste any time going deep in to dragon lore. Perhaps this is why it had such staying power for me- the adventure, story, and characters get all the focus and while the world is absolutely a believably magic one, I don't feel there was any need for exposition dumps at all. This being said, the dialogue in Dragon Rider can be extremely cliche and boring at several points, and if it wasn't paced so well and didn't have other things going on in the foreground, I do believe it could've made the book downright unreadable. But this isn't the case, thankfully. The elimination of the enemy at the end feels earned and exciting, and the journey feels appropriately grand to support the sort of coming-of-age arc Ben has. Incidentally, reading it as an adult was extra rewarding as I now have a greater understanding of the geography of their trip from Scotland, through Pakistan and Egypt, and up in to the Himilayas. Also, the cover art is just wonderful. I never forgot the cover art.
8/10 Shitakke Mushrooms
The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende
I did not expect this book to be the overwhelmingly haunting and emotional experience it was. For some reason it didn't stick with me as a kid and my only memories of it were that of Grogoman the Many Colored Death (he is still one of my favorite parts) and the stuff that made it in to the movie. All things considered, I basically went in to this blind because the stuff that made it in to the movie and Grogoman are maybe 30% of this novel and the mythology and philosophy which connects these parts to each other and the rest of the story were a total surprise. The wonderful thing about this book is that on a surface level it is already a 10/10. Superficially, this novel has an incredibly engaging story that is as endlessly fascinating as it is emotionally moving, bursting with intricate creativity and mythology that wisely never bogs down the plot or takes away from the sense of the natural wonder and awe of Fantasia. While you read this novel though, at first slowly and then all at once like the tide coming in, the philosophy behind the story and the world building begin to piece together just enough to be gripping but not so much that it forces the reader to challenge the text and strive to understand it. There are many points where I realised that I did not at all understand the underlying logic of how something came to be, or what laws appeared to govern it, and yet it could not have mattered less because the result of every chapter is complete and utter surrender to the natural ease Fantastica endows upon itself and its mythology. Part of the journey and experience of this story is being swept up just like Bastian and Atreyu- sometimes frightened, sometimes empowered or submitting to confusion, but always present in the sort of meditative flow and understanding this story has of itself. I already feel foolish for saying this as I know it sounds like Michael Ende has effectively indoctrinated me in to whatever spiritual cult this book draws people in to, but the story really does feel alive in a way no other book ever has for me. While there are millions of books about magic which feel magical while you read them, no other novel has had that unforgiving chaos magic type effect on me which I can identify as, dare I say, real magic. Already I am starting to fall down the rabbit hole again. This book haunted me the way House of Leaves appears to haunt others, albeit in a more horrific seeming fashion, and I honestly don't know if this has convinced me to finally give House of Leaves a shot, or if this should be seen as a warning that this kind of literary dark magic has more power than I can understand or am even yet willing to acknowledge. Any book can say "X did this thing for 100 fucking years" and you can read that, acknowledge it, and picture it, but no book has ever brought entropy and concepts of time to life like this one has for me, ever. You feel the weight and fatigue of those 100 years and everything introduced in the novel carries that same lifelike feeling with it. I cant explain it, but you arent just told "this process has been happening for a millenia", you are opened up to this very idea of things existing and moving in harmony with time like this. The world and the world building feels old and significant, deliberate and prophetic in a powerful way unique to this novel and this novel alone.
This book is the exact opposite of Inkheart. The Neverending Story opens up with a character who is not unlike the main character in Inkheart- they are children which adore books and believe that books and stories have the ability to be trans-formative. Both Inkheart and The Neverending Story play with ideas of magical books and stories which take on the effects of the "real world" and their readers. However, Inkheart uses twice as many pages to ultimately say nothing about any of this and The Neverending Story's only real flaw is that it isn't really never-ending. I wish it were! Yet at the same time, of course I don't as this story has shown me how this is both an unspeakable horror and strangely, the very nature of our existence. Where Inkheart poses what it believes to be real danger and stakes and urges it's young readers to keep turning pages in anticipation, The Neverending Story is very slow and methodical and explores more psychological and spiritual horror than it does real physical danger (however, when it does involve physical danger, the risks are a lot more viscerally believable and terrifying. The classic example being the Swamp of Sorrows).
There is not one weak fantastical concept, setting, character, or story point in this book and nearly every one appears to draw from several pre-existing philosophies yet at the same time directing it in a new unique and enchanting way. A strange force compels me to re-read this book immediately, right after I had finished it. However, I knew I had other books to re-read in this project, so instead I promptly bought it on my Kobo so I can later revisit it and once again be drawn in to the intoxicating awe and haunt of this novel.
10/10 Wise Grey Monkeys
The Trumpet of the Swan
by E.B White
This story was every bit as wholesome as I remember it, though I'd be lying if I said it hasn't aged a little with some low-key racism and sexism. I am not sure why E.B White insists on telling you a dozen times that Sam walks "like an indian" or the choice to have Serena, the love interest of the protagonist, have exactly zero dialogue or intentions at all. However, ultimately this didn't ruin any of my enjoyment of the novel. It is a sweet, simple story with delightful sequences and phrasing. I love that reading this story feels like being read to as a child just in the way it is written. I believe this was one of my favourites as a child because of how endearing Louis is as a protagonist but also because that lovely image of Louis playing taps at the camp is something that has stuck with me my entire life. There were some parts that were really unimpressive as an adult and in the end I really believe that Louis's father should have died, but this children's book is so dedicated to preserving that never-ending feel-good narrative to take any kind of dramatic turns of events or risk. This would have been a more interesting and still every bit as redemptive story if Louis's father had died returning the money and Serena had still stiffed Louis, or even had a personality at all, but this just aint the E.B White way. He used up all of his character deaths in Charlotte's Web I guess.
6/10 Koh-hoh's
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
Throughout this journey in revisiting the novels of my childhood, I have wondered why some stories stuck with me and some hadn't. It is very clear why Kira-Kira stuck with me in a logical sense; the characters are incredibly fleshed out, the story is emotionally effecting and the message layered and thought-provoking, and the writing is excellent. However, it was not clear to me then, probably about 13 or so years ago, that this story would end up being so personal to me now. Even while I was re-reading it, I found myself vulnerable and unprepared for the perspective of this story that had once made me feel vaguely frightened, uncomfortable, and paranoid as a kid and now left me stricken with acute PTSD. It was challenging getting through this book. Though I've read it probably 4 or 5 times before, this time I approached it with the life experience that could relate to the sickening confusion and betrayal that one feels watching someone you love have the life leached out of them from years of fatigue. Kira-Kira is written from the perspective of a 9 year old girl, but this inner voice was not unlike my own while my husband was sick over the course of 2 years. These situations make children of us all- scared, desperate, deeply confused and helpless. I know that fervour that takes over you as you constantly look for new ways to brighten the day, to make up for lost time, to catch up and persevere. I know that sick, haunting paranoia when you begin to believe this may be the rest of our lives, the sudden realisation that you have no idea how to navigate this reality together. Katie navigating her sister's illness and the stress this puts on her family and their respective relationships was a deeply familiar thing to me, but this is not the only thing that stuck with me over the years even if I didn't fully understand why. It is amazing how stories can do this sometimes. Its as if some part of me knew that all of this would mean something bigger to me later and subconsciously held on to it like some echoing paranoia I've had my whole life finally coming in to focus.
As a child, you recognise the descriptions of Katie's overworked and exhausted parents and you identify with her fear as she watches her family succumb to a lifeless exhaustion. Of course, when I was younger I perceived this as a story of misfortune, not a porthole in to poverty and institutionalised racism. Kira-Kira should be read right alongside a viewing of Sorry to Bother You. While completely different in tone, the message behind the modern-day slave labour is the same. Katie understands that her parents work 50 hours a week only to collapse in bed and worry constantly because they love her and her sister, but as an adult of course I see that this is not the whole picture. Katie's parents fear the union strikes because losing their jobs is an unimaginable death sentence and the book ends with them still living under this oppressive fear and living conditions, the only thing changing being that they now support the union in honour of other families who cannot spare a moment to spend with their dying families for fear of going bankrupt. All of this, too, has naturally only become more and more relevant as I grow older in this world of late-stage capitalism.
Yet, despite all this, this story is not a hopeless and bleak one. The dead sister and husks of parents shuffling wordlessly through their exhaustion is not the resounding beat of the story. Katie is constantly drawing back to this point that all of this is what love looks like, and the love and quiet devotion of her parents are shown in incredibly powerful passages throughout the book. Katie's parents are two of the most incredible fictional parents I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and this isn't because they are perfect or charming, as they are barely alive for the bulk of the book, but because their love and wisdom are so potent and enduring. As an adult, I am also deeply touched and inspired by the marriage Katie's parents have- one of joyful love and affection, teamwork and respect even in the most dire of situations.
This novel depicts poverty and cancer but never with any pity. It is clear that the author wants you to see that this family is not an unfortunate one, but a remarkable one. What really sets this novel apart from other "child has cancer" novels is that it shows the gruelling every-day reality of the disease for the person involved and the family right alongside that same enduring force of love and tenderness they all have for each other. Sickness like this is not a sudden and shocking thing- but a long and despairing war of attrition. The only way to survive situations like these is with undying love and perseverance, and this novel really hits this message home. I don't think the author wants the take home message to be "death is a tragedy and capitalist greed is the greatest evil of them all", as Katie certainly doesn't end her narrative on this idea. The closing moments of the novel show a family coming together and moving forward in honour of their daughter lost to lymphoma, and throughout the slow realisation that Lynn isn't just "tired" and her parents aren't just "tired", there are so many moments and memories still where the reader is caught up and rapt in Katie's pride and joy to be with her family.
I am incredibly biased on this front, but I can't help but give this book the highest rating.
10/10 Ocean Sparkles
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
At first as I was reading this book, I was worried that I'd end up disappointed. One unfortunate thing about reading childrens books as an adult, for me anyways, is that the humour sometimes just doesn't work as well any more. Sometimes I'd get a smile or a little chuckle, but a lot of the time I was in this weird place where I recognised that something was funny but didn't actually *feel* like it was. There were a lot of instances of that in this book at first. However, over time this humour did become an important part of Sal's voice as a narrator and I found it less jarring. This is honestly the only thing that stopped me from rating this book a 10/10.
From both a very technical place and a sentimental heartfelt place, this book is basically perfect. The book opens with a few stories and characters that are interesting and engaging in their own right, and then of course throughout the book they all come together in this wonderful thematic web that is incredibly well done and fleshed out. I remember this book was used in school to show use what a "theme" meant and I can see why now how useful of a tool this was. Of all of the novels I have read this far for this project, this one absolutely uses consistent thematic beats the best. All of these themes of loss, change, denial, and love all fold in to a distinct coming-of-age experience involving elaborate storytelling which eventually folds in to truth and acceptance. It's funny how absurd some of the plot elements of this novel seem on paper because something about Sal's voice and the pacing all make it seem so natural and acceptable, much like all of childhood kind of seemed like. The interlocking stories, themes, and mysteries are all revealed in such a gentle and wonderful way and it was a genuine delight reading through it. All of the various metaphors, imagery, and touch-points of Sal's story are memorable and have that essential playful quality to them and of course the "moccasin game" is a fantastic perspective tool for the book to close on, but two of them in particular really stuck with me and those were the blackberry kisses and the marriage bed.
I really connect with Sal's memories and fantastical depiction of her mother. Though certainly we have had very different relationships with our mother, I too find that when I think of my mother in my earliest memories or as she is told to me in stories, she takes on this achingly beautiful fleeting glory just like Sal remembers her mother as. I know what it is like to be in awe of an image you aren't even quite sure is real, but to worship the stories and ideas of your mother in this way nonetheless because it's all you have. I also know what it is like to be around a mourning father. This aspect of the story was very personal to me and this warmth between Sal and her mother appeared to emanate from the pages straight in to my god dang soul. Such is my affection for this blackberry kisses and the idea of a mother's spirit living on in the air and in her daughter, that I found myself tearing up at this story even more so than the semi truck hitting me when Sal find's her mother's grave. The marriage bed joke between Gram and Gramps also hit me like a ton of bricks, but not after being possibly the sweetest thing I have ever read. There is a not insignificant chance that this marriage bed thing will haunt me in the sweetest and saddest moments of my married life- both when we are sharing those eternally affectionate little jokes, and when one of us fucking dies and it may not be our marriage bed but it will have to do. God dammit Sharon Creech!
Walk Two Moons is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories of all time especially for girls, certainly one of the most intricate, and well worth another read.
8/10 Chickabidees
by Michael Ende
I did not expect this book to be the overwhelmingly haunting and emotional experience it was. For some reason it didn't stick with me as a kid and my only memories of it were that of Grogoman the Many Colored Death (he is still one of my favorite parts) and the stuff that made it in to the movie. All things considered, I basically went in to this blind because the stuff that made it in to the movie and Grogoman are maybe 30% of this novel and the mythology and philosophy which connects these parts to each other and the rest of the story were a total surprise. The wonderful thing about this book is that on a surface level it is already a 10/10. Superficially, this novel has an incredibly engaging story that is as endlessly fascinating as it is emotionally moving, bursting with intricate creativity and mythology that wisely never bogs down the plot or takes away from the sense of the natural wonder and awe of Fantasia. While you read this novel though, at first slowly and then all at once like the tide coming in, the philosophy behind the story and the world building begin to piece together just enough to be gripping but not so much that it forces the reader to challenge the text and strive to understand it. There are many points where I realised that I did not at all understand the underlying logic of how something came to be, or what laws appeared to govern it, and yet it could not have mattered less because the result of every chapter is complete and utter surrender to the natural ease Fantastica endows upon itself and its mythology. Part of the journey and experience of this story is being swept up just like Bastian and Atreyu- sometimes frightened, sometimes empowered or submitting to confusion, but always present in the sort of meditative flow and understanding this story has of itself. I already feel foolish for saying this as I know it sounds like Michael Ende has effectively indoctrinated me in to whatever spiritual cult this book draws people in to, but the story really does feel alive in a way no other book ever has for me. While there are millions of books about magic which feel magical while you read them, no other novel has had that unforgiving chaos magic type effect on me which I can identify as, dare I say, real magic. Already I am starting to fall down the rabbit hole again. This book haunted me the way House of Leaves appears to haunt others, albeit in a more horrific seeming fashion, and I honestly don't know if this has convinced me to finally give House of Leaves a shot, or if this should be seen as a warning that this kind of literary dark magic has more power than I can understand or am even yet willing to acknowledge. Any book can say "X did this thing for 100 fucking years" and you can read that, acknowledge it, and picture it, but no book has ever brought entropy and concepts of time to life like this one has for me, ever. You feel the weight and fatigue of those 100 years and everything introduced in the novel carries that same lifelike feeling with it. I cant explain it, but you arent just told "this process has been happening for a millenia", you are opened up to this very idea of things existing and moving in harmony with time like this. The world and the world building feels old and significant, deliberate and prophetic in a powerful way unique to this novel and this novel alone.
This book is the exact opposite of Inkheart. The Neverending Story opens up with a character who is not unlike the main character in Inkheart- they are children which adore books and believe that books and stories have the ability to be trans-formative. Both Inkheart and The Neverending Story play with ideas of magical books and stories which take on the effects of the "real world" and their readers. However, Inkheart uses twice as many pages to ultimately say nothing about any of this and The Neverending Story's only real flaw is that it isn't really never-ending. I wish it were! Yet at the same time, of course I don't as this story has shown me how this is both an unspeakable horror and strangely, the very nature of our existence. Where Inkheart poses what it believes to be real danger and stakes and urges it's young readers to keep turning pages in anticipation, The Neverending Story is very slow and methodical and explores more psychological and spiritual horror than it does real physical danger (however, when it does involve physical danger, the risks are a lot more viscerally believable and terrifying. The classic example being the Swamp of Sorrows).
There is not one weak fantastical concept, setting, character, or story point in this book and nearly every one appears to draw from several pre-existing philosophies yet at the same time directing it in a new unique and enchanting way. A strange force compels me to re-read this book immediately, right after I had finished it. However, I knew I had other books to re-read in this project, so instead I promptly bought it on my Kobo so I can later revisit it and once again be drawn in to the intoxicating awe and haunt of this novel.
10/10 Wise Grey Monkeys
by E.B White
This story was every bit as wholesome as I remember it, though I'd be lying if I said it hasn't aged a little with some low-key racism and sexism. I am not sure why E.B White insists on telling you a dozen times that Sam walks "like an indian" or the choice to have Serena, the love interest of the protagonist, have exactly zero dialogue or intentions at all. However, ultimately this didn't ruin any of my enjoyment of the novel. It is a sweet, simple story with delightful sequences and phrasing. I love that reading this story feels like being read to as a child just in the way it is written. I believe this was one of my favourites as a child because of how endearing Louis is as a protagonist but also because that lovely image of Louis playing taps at the camp is something that has stuck with me my entire life. There were some parts that were really unimpressive as an adult and in the end I really believe that Louis's father should have died, but this children's book is so dedicated to preserving that never-ending feel-good narrative to take any kind of dramatic turns of events or risk. This would have been a more interesting and still every bit as redemptive story if Louis's father had died returning the money and Serena had still stiffed Louis, or even had a personality at all, but this just aint the E.B White way. He used up all of his character deaths in Charlotte's Web I guess.
6/10 Koh-hoh's
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
As a child, you recognise the descriptions of Katie's overworked and exhausted parents and you identify with her fear as she watches her family succumb to a lifeless exhaustion. Of course, when I was younger I perceived this as a story of misfortune, not a porthole in to poverty and institutionalised racism. Kira-Kira should be read right alongside a viewing of Sorry to Bother You. While completely different in tone, the message behind the modern-day slave labour is the same. Katie understands that her parents work 50 hours a week only to collapse in bed and worry constantly because they love her and her sister, but as an adult of course I see that this is not the whole picture. Katie's parents fear the union strikes because losing their jobs is an unimaginable death sentence and the book ends with them still living under this oppressive fear and living conditions, the only thing changing being that they now support the union in honour of other families who cannot spare a moment to spend with their dying families for fear of going bankrupt. All of this, too, has naturally only become more and more relevant as I grow older in this world of late-stage capitalism.
Yet, despite all this, this story is not a hopeless and bleak one. The dead sister and husks of parents shuffling wordlessly through their exhaustion is not the resounding beat of the story. Katie is constantly drawing back to this point that all of this is what love looks like, and the love and quiet devotion of her parents are shown in incredibly powerful passages throughout the book. Katie's parents are two of the most incredible fictional parents I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and this isn't because they are perfect or charming, as they are barely alive for the bulk of the book, but because their love and wisdom are so potent and enduring. As an adult, I am also deeply touched and inspired by the marriage Katie's parents have- one of joyful love and affection, teamwork and respect even in the most dire of situations.
This novel depicts poverty and cancer but never with any pity. It is clear that the author wants you to see that this family is not an unfortunate one, but a remarkable one. What really sets this novel apart from other "child has cancer" novels is that it shows the gruelling every-day reality of the disease for the person involved and the family right alongside that same enduring force of love and tenderness they all have for each other. Sickness like this is not a sudden and shocking thing- but a long and despairing war of attrition. The only way to survive situations like these is with undying love and perseverance, and this novel really hits this message home. I don't think the author wants the take home message to be "death is a tragedy and capitalist greed is the greatest evil of them all", as Katie certainly doesn't end her narrative on this idea. The closing moments of the novel show a family coming together and moving forward in honour of their daughter lost to lymphoma, and throughout the slow realisation that Lynn isn't just "tired" and her parents aren't just "tired", there are so many moments and memories still where the reader is caught up and rapt in Katie's pride and joy to be with her family.
I am incredibly biased on this front, but I can't help but give this book the highest rating.
10/10 Ocean Sparkles
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
From both a very technical place and a sentimental heartfelt place, this book is basically perfect. The book opens with a few stories and characters that are interesting and engaging in their own right, and then of course throughout the book they all come together in this wonderful thematic web that is incredibly well done and fleshed out. I remember this book was used in school to show use what a "theme" meant and I can see why now how useful of a tool this was. Of all of the novels I have read this far for this project, this one absolutely uses consistent thematic beats the best. All of these themes of loss, change, denial, and love all fold in to a distinct coming-of-age experience involving elaborate storytelling which eventually folds in to truth and acceptance. It's funny how absurd some of the plot elements of this novel seem on paper because something about Sal's voice and the pacing all make it seem so natural and acceptable, much like all of childhood kind of seemed like. The interlocking stories, themes, and mysteries are all revealed in such a gentle and wonderful way and it was a genuine delight reading through it. All of the various metaphors, imagery, and touch-points of Sal's story are memorable and have that essential playful quality to them and of course the "moccasin game" is a fantastic perspective tool for the book to close on, but two of them in particular really stuck with me and those were the blackberry kisses and the marriage bed.
I really connect with Sal's memories and fantastical depiction of her mother. Though certainly we have had very different relationships with our mother, I too find that when I think of my mother in my earliest memories or as she is told to me in stories, she takes on this achingly beautiful fleeting glory just like Sal remembers her mother as. I know what it is like to be in awe of an image you aren't even quite sure is real, but to worship the stories and ideas of your mother in this way nonetheless because it's all you have. I also know what it is like to be around a mourning father. This aspect of the story was very personal to me and this warmth between Sal and her mother appeared to emanate from the pages straight in to my god dang soul. Such is my affection for this blackberry kisses and the idea of a mother's spirit living on in the air and in her daughter, that I found myself tearing up at this story even more so than the semi truck hitting me when Sal find's her mother's grave. The marriage bed joke between Gram and Gramps also hit me like a ton of bricks, but not after being possibly the sweetest thing I have ever read. There is a not insignificant chance that this marriage bed thing will haunt me in the sweetest and saddest moments of my married life- both when we are sharing those eternally affectionate little jokes, and when one of us fucking dies and it may not be our marriage bed but it will have to do. God dammit Sharon Creech!
Walk Two Moons is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories of all time especially for girls, certainly one of the most intricate, and well worth another read.
8/10 Chickabidees
The Akhenaten Adventure
By PB Kerr
I read about 30 pages of this and had to quit. It is obnoxiously British, painfully un-funny, and the protagonists are a bunch of Mary Sue's. Mayne it gets better, but I didnt have the stomach for 200 more pages of terrible family banter.
3/10 genies
Looking For Alaska
By John Green
I read all of John Green's books when I was young (up until The Fault in Our Stars, as I had grown out of his work by the time that came out). I liked them all, but I loved this one. I remember the basic premise of all of them, but only Looking For Alaska has that enduring quality where I still thought about it as an adult. I am fairly certain that his other books would not hold up if I were to read them now and I think I had a sense of this even when I was young- his other books feel like just an easier version of his best book. They all have the self-insert male protagonist who is swept away by an aloof and intoxicating girl who they fall in love with, and then her disappearance or sudden mystery involves a coming-of-age philosophical treasure hunt of sorts, concluding in a quotable pastiche of ideas on the vulnerability and grace of teen-hood. This is what John Green does best and it is cringy now, as an adult, to realise how manipulative this formula became. However, Looking For Alaska was his strongest work even in spite of this formula not just because it was the first to use it, and thus it had the advantage of revealing the parts of this narrative that are the most interesting and ripe for dissection, but also because Alaska is just so much more believable and well rounded than John Green's other female characters (of that time. I have heard the protagonist of Fault in Our Stars is well done, if not a little over done).
What can I say about a book that perfectly captures painful teenage infatuation not just with a girl, but with the ragged freedoms of that age? I was a cringy teen. I had "the Great Perhaps" and "love thy crooked neighbour" written on my walls, the "greater than the sum of our parts" bit memorised. I believed that I, too, understood the labyrinth of suffering, having just emancipated myself from my mother at the time. Even now, these passages and ideas are undeniably stirring and I can appreciate how validating they were to me then, how they shaped who I am today. I love any story reveals that every day life, even at its most benign and gray, has great meaning and promise. I love this unconventional hope in Looking For Alaska. What may technically be a gray concrete complex with turbulent student politics, Culver Creek, ends up being a breathable depiction of an engaging community. The culture and history of the school feels real and fleshed out and even the way John Green depicts sex, smokes, and liquor has a remarkable quality which feels exactly how it did when you first incorporate it in to life as a teen. It is all at once anxious yet freeing, dirty yet meaningful, rebellious and familiar. The only novel I can think of which captures the relationship between adolescence and liquor this well is the Goldfinch (the Vegas chapters).
The novel is also still legitimately funny and the "after" part still hits like a truck. It was really awesome revisiting this. It felt like reaching out and validating 14 year-old me and showing her that this story still matters and that Alaska Young is every bit as dynamic and intoxicating now as she was then.
9/10 bufriedos
The House of the Scorpion
What can I say about a book that perfectly captures painful teenage infatuation not just with a girl, but with the ragged freedoms of that age? I was a cringy teen. I had "the Great Perhaps" and "love thy crooked neighbour" written on my walls, the "greater than the sum of our parts" bit memorised. I believed that I, too, understood the labyrinth of suffering, having just emancipated myself from my mother at the time. Even now, these passages and ideas are undeniably stirring and I can appreciate how validating they were to me then, how they shaped who I am today. I love any story reveals that every day life, even at its most benign and gray, has great meaning and promise. I love this unconventional hope in Looking For Alaska. What may technically be a gray concrete complex with turbulent student politics, Culver Creek, ends up being a breathable depiction of an engaging community. The culture and history of the school feels real and fleshed out and even the way John Green depicts sex, smokes, and liquor has a remarkable quality which feels exactly how it did when you first incorporate it in to life as a teen. It is all at once anxious yet freeing, dirty yet meaningful, rebellious and familiar. The only novel I can think of which captures the relationship between adolescence and liquor this well is the Goldfinch (the Vegas chapters).
The novel is also still legitimately funny and the "after" part still hits like a truck. It was really awesome revisiting this. It felt like reaching out and validating 14 year-old me and showing her that this story still matters and that Alaska Young is every bit as dynamic and intoxicating now as she was then.
9/10 bufriedos
By Nancy Farmer
This is the first and only of these books from my childhood that I was honestly a little frightened to revisit. My fears were totally valid- all I recalled about this book was that it scared me, it took me several tries to finish it, and to be honest I'm not even sure if I ever finished it but I was always drawn to it. My memories of this book were very foggy, but the uneasy feeling I got thinking about it was undeniably mysterious and enticing.
Though I do have some issues with how quickly it is wrapped up, it is nonetheless a very satisfying and earned ending and the story as a whole is carried with intelligence and surprisingly nuanced emotion. Matt is a great example of a self-insert character that is still given the agency to make decisions that the reader should cringe at and feel betrayed by. As a foil, Maria is brilliant, but she is also just a great character to see grow up and have influence on the story and world of this book. I liken her to a Hermione character and despite getting about 10% as much time to be seen and evolve, her arc and effect on the thematic beats of the narrative as well as Matt are every bit as empowering, compassionate, and interesting as Hermione is. Honestly I can't believe how little of Maria I remembered from my youth. I adored her while reading this and I love that the romance between her and Matt ultimately take a back-seat to their friendship and her development as a character. Even if the romance scenes were a wonderful treat, I'm so happy to see that she is never treated as a pawn or a simple motivating factor for Matt. There is always so much more at stake than just re-uniting with Maria.
My only real criticism of this novel is that it is absolutely exhausting to read. Especially from about the half way point forward, there is hardly a moments rest between threats, action, and escapes. This makes The House of the Scorpion a particularly stressful read but it also makes the story that much more immersive- every threat is real, understandable, and with multiple motivations and reasons to exist. The nightmarish situations Matt is rushed in to, always as a result of escaping the last one, are vivid and infinitely more terrifying than I remembered as a kid. I knew it was coming, and still the plankton factory uprising and the reveal of the thirsty ejjits hit me with a wave of shock and nausea unique to the experience of this story.
Parents may worry about letting their kids read a book that takes place in "Opium" and may be wary of what they assume will be a story about drugs. These fears are totally misplaced though, because drugs and the moralisation of drugs are rarely seen at all in this novel. What is seen is a shockingly bold political take on power structures, organised crime, and the moral implications of cloning and slave labour. This book is unlike any other YA novel that I've read before. I honestly can hardly believe my parents let me read it when I was a child no older than 12, but at the same time I am not surprised how much of it wasn't retained in my memory. The story is complex, the language and relationships between characters and motivations are complex and mature, and the horrific depictions of slavery and medical testing are deeply unforgiving. This book is extremely fucked up and will leave you in a cold sweat for at least 100 pages. Even the cultural environment of this novel which at first seems warm and nostalgic is soon diverted in to criticism. There were at least 3 times when I felt so shocked by a betrayal or new threat that I felt legitimate anger. The book is smart, too- I hadn't seen hardly anything coming, save the few things I had remembered from my youth. The only thing that keeps it from having a perfect score is that I don't think I enjoyed it so much as I admire it. Well, and I find it really annoying that we never get to see how Tom dies. Laaaame.
7/10 Safe Horses
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O'Brien
This is another book I would describe as "cozy". Something I really like and respect about this book is that it shows restraint and never gives you the whole picture or story. Just like Mrs. Frisby, you only get a small glimpse in to the lives and possibilities of the rats of NIMH. The ending suggests that Mrs. Frisby's children might go off and reconnect with the rats, but the story and message of the novel doesn't need this to happen. I love how this opens up so much opportunity for imagination and awe to take place- we do not know if the rats succeeded with their civilisation and we do not know which one of them were the ones to die nor which one saved Brutus and warned the others.
I love that the story of NIMH and how they got from NIMH to the barn is told in full, the conflict between Jenner and Nichodemus is explained thoroughly, and we do learn about the fate of Jenner and his followers, but we never get any kind of big showdown between them. I really like that both philosophies have merit, both sides understand this, and neither feels that any kind of war or ultimatum would help anything. I found the conflict between the earned lives of Jenner and his cunning rats vs the cultivated plan of Nichodemus and his rats to be very interesting and a lot more complex than I had perceived it to be as a child. There is no clear enemy or antagonist in this novel at all, really. The whole world has an intrinsic understanding of interdependence and its impressive how cohesive the relationships are between all the animals and humans considering how short the novel is, especially when you consider that well over half of it is backstory.
All things considered, this is a very quiet and thoughtful book much like Tuck Everlasting was, and I really enjoyed revisiting it. The care that was taken to examine just the right amount of philosophy while still adhering to plot and great pacing is noticeable and admirable. This is a wonderful book and a really unique and interesting take on the typical anthropomorphic story format, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer the movie. The book is more thoughtful, smart, and deliberate, but there is never any real sense of risk or danger that the movie conveys. That being said, I do like that the book has the guts to end with mystery and interpretation, where as the movie doesn't tackle the dilemma of the rats moving away at all. All things considered, this endearing story was every bit as engaging to me as an adult as it was to me as a child and Nichodemus is a baller character name. This I cannot deny.
8/10 Sleepy Dragons
This is the first and only of these books from my childhood that I was honestly a little frightened to revisit. My fears were totally valid- all I recalled about this book was that it scared me, it took me several tries to finish it, and to be honest I'm not even sure if I ever finished it but I was always drawn to it. My memories of this book were very foggy, but the uneasy feeling I got thinking about it was undeniably mysterious and enticing.
Though I do have some issues with how quickly it is wrapped up, it is nonetheless a very satisfying and earned ending and the story as a whole is carried with intelligence and surprisingly nuanced emotion. Matt is a great example of a self-insert character that is still given the agency to make decisions that the reader should cringe at and feel betrayed by. As a foil, Maria is brilliant, but she is also just a great character to see grow up and have influence on the story and world of this book. I liken her to a Hermione character and despite getting about 10% as much time to be seen and evolve, her arc and effect on the thematic beats of the narrative as well as Matt are every bit as empowering, compassionate, and interesting as Hermione is. Honestly I can't believe how little of Maria I remembered from my youth. I adored her while reading this and I love that the romance between her and Matt ultimately take a back-seat to their friendship and her development as a character. Even if the romance scenes were a wonderful treat, I'm so happy to see that she is never treated as a pawn or a simple motivating factor for Matt. There is always so much more at stake than just re-uniting with Maria.
My only real criticism of this novel is that it is absolutely exhausting to read. Especially from about the half way point forward, there is hardly a moments rest between threats, action, and escapes. This makes The House of the Scorpion a particularly stressful read but it also makes the story that much more immersive- every threat is real, understandable, and with multiple motivations and reasons to exist. The nightmarish situations Matt is rushed in to, always as a result of escaping the last one, are vivid and infinitely more terrifying than I remembered as a kid. I knew it was coming, and still the plankton factory uprising and the reveal of the thirsty ejjits hit me with a wave of shock and nausea unique to the experience of this story.
Parents may worry about letting their kids read a book that takes place in "Opium" and may be wary of what they assume will be a story about drugs. These fears are totally misplaced though, because drugs and the moralisation of drugs are rarely seen at all in this novel. What is seen is a shockingly bold political take on power structures, organised crime, and the moral implications of cloning and slave labour. This book is unlike any other YA novel that I've read before. I honestly can hardly believe my parents let me read it when I was a child no older than 12, but at the same time I am not surprised how much of it wasn't retained in my memory. The story is complex, the language and relationships between characters and motivations are complex and mature, and the horrific depictions of slavery and medical testing are deeply unforgiving. This book is extremely fucked up and will leave you in a cold sweat for at least 100 pages. Even the cultural environment of this novel which at first seems warm and nostalgic is soon diverted in to criticism. There were at least 3 times when I felt so shocked by a betrayal or new threat that I felt legitimate anger. The book is smart, too- I hadn't seen hardly anything coming, save the few things I had remembered from my youth. The only thing that keeps it from having a perfect score is that I don't think I enjoyed it so much as I admire it. Well, and I find it really annoying that we never get to see how Tom dies. Laaaame.
7/10 Safe Horses
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMHby Robert C. O'Brien
This is another book I would describe as "cozy". Something I really like and respect about this book is that it shows restraint and never gives you the whole picture or story. Just like Mrs. Frisby, you only get a small glimpse in to the lives and possibilities of the rats of NIMH. The ending suggests that Mrs. Frisby's children might go off and reconnect with the rats, but the story and message of the novel doesn't need this to happen. I love how this opens up so much opportunity for imagination and awe to take place- we do not know if the rats succeeded with their civilisation and we do not know which one of them were the ones to die nor which one saved Brutus and warned the others.
I love that the story of NIMH and how they got from NIMH to the barn is told in full, the conflict between Jenner and Nichodemus is explained thoroughly, and we do learn about the fate of Jenner and his followers, but we never get any kind of big showdown between them. I really like that both philosophies have merit, both sides understand this, and neither feels that any kind of war or ultimatum would help anything. I found the conflict between the earned lives of Jenner and his cunning rats vs the cultivated plan of Nichodemus and his rats to be very interesting and a lot more complex than I had perceived it to be as a child. There is no clear enemy or antagonist in this novel at all, really. The whole world has an intrinsic understanding of interdependence and its impressive how cohesive the relationships are between all the animals and humans considering how short the novel is, especially when you consider that well over half of it is backstory.
All things considered, this is a very quiet and thoughtful book much like Tuck Everlasting was, and I really enjoyed revisiting it. The care that was taken to examine just the right amount of philosophy while still adhering to plot and great pacing is noticeable and admirable. This is a wonderful book and a really unique and interesting take on the typical anthropomorphic story format, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer the movie. The book is more thoughtful, smart, and deliberate, but there is never any real sense of risk or danger that the movie conveys. That being said, I do like that the book has the guts to end with mystery and interpretation, where as the movie doesn't tackle the dilemma of the rats moving away at all. All things considered, this endearing story was every bit as engaging to me as an adult as it was to me as a child and Nichodemus is a baller character name. This I cannot deny.
8/10 Sleepy Dragons
by Jerry Spinelli
Once again, Spinelli knocks it out of the park. I saved this one for last because it was what I'd remembered most fondly as my favorite book of my childhood, and it did not disappoint. The mythology of childhood is a central tenant to this story and everything builds around this idea that childhood is meaningful, children have autonomy in more ways than adults realise, and finally that young people are the harbingers of real change even in a world stuck on tradition. Though every child in this book is raised with the racial border between east and west end firmly drawn out for them, we see even in Jeffery's brief influence that real change occurs in this community. Many reviews and discussions on this book touch on this point that part of what makes this story so important and resonant with children over several generations is because it is a story of hope. The jovial energy of Maniac Magee is undeniable and I found myself cheering again, just like I had the first 500 times I read it, for the infamous untying of Cobbles Knot. I love that this story periodically breaks away from the plot to examine a crucial piece of the legendary mythology of Maniac. This book is so intimate and fleshed out, its hard to believe so much is achieved in it's short length. The prose is spectacular and easily the best of all of Spinelli's books- it absolutely demands to be read out loud. Images and the rythym of narrative in this novel are unlike any other I've seen before. The comparison of Maniac's loose souls of his sneakers to flopping dog suns in the heat always stuck with me. I knew when that line was coming up, like to many others, and lapped it up gratefully.
Incredible. The last act isn't quite as tight as the first two, but nonetheless this book deserves the perfect 10 I give it.
10/10 Butterscotch Krimpets
Incredible. The last act isn't quite as tight as the first two, but nonetheless this book deserves the perfect 10 I give it.
10/10 Butterscotch Krimpets
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