Not just a flash in the pan: Vengeance Road, Erin Bowman

Vengeance Road
Erin Bowman
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2015
978-0544466388

You guys. It’s well documented by now that I’m a sucker for a cross-dressing, historically fiction-y, adventure with a twist of romance squeezed over the top novel. I’m looking at you, Bloody Jack, Song of the Lioness Quartet, and most recently, Gold Seer books (I read the second one; it was an awesome albeit at time crushing finale - read it!). The later is totally appropriate to end that aside with, because there’s a bit of a Western element to it, which ties nicely to this one, the truly, madly, deeply, Western you never knew you were missing.

Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pritcher: In which love triangles are proven bad buisness

Ketchup Clouds

Annabel Pritcher

Little Brown: New York, 2013.

ISBN: 9780316246767

Zoe has a secret that she's only able to share with her pen pal, Mr. Stuart Harris, a death row prisoner in a Texas prisoner.  He's the only one that she feels can understand, and time is running out to share her story with him.  She's drowning under the weight of her guilt, and writing to him in the dead of the night in her parents garden shed is the only thing that helps her keep treading water.  She fell for one brother, won the heart of two, betrayed them both, and killed one.  Her family is struggling with their own load of guilt, in-fighting, and bitterness, and fraying at the edges.  This epistolary tale is initially bleak, yet it is gripping and hopeful.  The emotions are real, as are the problems.  Though sometimes our protagonist can come across as a little self involved, it is recommended and will be an easy sell with girls ages 13-16.  

Despite the hugely depressing premise, and my natural inclination to be like, "Okay, teenage drama queen, you unreliable protagonist you - let's not blow this confession out of proportion, but DUH. Love triangles are never a good idea," I grew to really enjoy reading this book.  Sure, Zoe totally meets this description.  But there's enough redemption and understanding that builds through the story to understand why she feels terribly responsible.  Any sophisticated reader will figure this one out, but it's not so much the story as the exploration of how things can go so wrong and how we can find redemption and forgiveness that makes me want to recommend this title.  I'd say go for it, even though Zoe is kind of thoughtlessly cruel to Mr. Harris with her blunt statements like:

"I'm less brave than you, so don't feel too bad when you go for the lethal injection, which I wouldn't worry about, because when my dog was put to sleep it really was peaceful" (5)

Or this one, which I'm having a lot of trouble swallowing, to be honest:

"All I can hope is that I'm wrong about Death Row and there's a friendly inmate in the cell next to yours.  I'm crossing my fingers that he's a chatty rapist who knows a few jokes as well." (57)

Maybe it's gallows humor...but it's a little tasteless, especially that second line.  It does prove a point later though, when Zoe become more attached to and supportive of Mr. Harris, increasingly familiar (addressing him as Stu), voicing her dismay over his imminent expiration date, etc.  

There are other redeeming qualities, like Dot, who is Zoe's deaf 5 year-old sister. It's kind of great to both acknowledge the difficulties therein, but to show that Dot is totally healthy, happy, delightful, and thriving. I also loved the descriptions of a culture similar to but different from American culture; Guy Fawkes day you guys! If you can stomach my earlier quibbles about Zoe's initial callousness and are okay with the appearance of teenage drinking (remember, this is an English import, and it's a slightly more socially acceptable behavior with our colonial masters), check this one out.  

If you've read this and are in need of a warming hug, and/or a book club recipe, I did some cooking inspired by the title/cover art, which I'm calling Cloud Soup, but which is actually probably better dubbed Roasted Cauliflower and Eggplant Soup. It's making miso hungry (recipe joke, self low five).

Roasted Cauliflower and Eggplant Soup
aka Cloup Soup for Ketchup Clouds

The Giza Gauntlet

Egypt threw down the gauntlet at the Giza Pyramids.  I wish I could say it was a really great experience, that the pyramids dazzled me, that I was inspired, etc.  But honestly, the hassling was so extreme at this tourist trap that I spent the first 45 minutes completely overwhelmed, frazzled, frustrated, and even near tears.  I knew it was going to be a bit intense, but what I realized retrospectively is though there were still busloads of tourists, I was more or less the only solo tourist visiting at the time.  Which meant open season on me.  I should have anticipated this; I already was aware that there were less tourists than usual (something that made me sad for Egypt's economy, but happy for my ability to actually see things and not be crowded at tourist places!), and that it was a pretty intense experience at the pyramids.  But holy. guacamole.  From the minute we approached the entrance in my cab, the cabbie let some guy hop into the front seat.  I was completely alarmed, and was all "What the what.  What are you doing?" We stopped at the "entrance" twenty yards away.  It was pretty clear it was not the entrance; thanks to my guidebook I was aware that this was a bit of a scam that is often run to get tourists to fork over extra money, rent a camel they don't want, etc.  

Messenger, by Lois Lowry: when bad books happen to good authors

Messenger. Lois Lowry (2004).
NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618404414

I can't believe a maven of children's literature is responsible for this book. Or, as I like to call it, this half-baked, over-aiming, under-performing, schizophrenic waste of a few good trees. In short, I less than enjoyed it. That's not to say the book doesn't have promise and is a stinker throughout; in fact, the first 7/8th's of the book are readable, developed, and pleasant enough. It's just that the ending of the story is so bad, so abrupt, so undercooked that it cheapens and pollutes the entire story. Sure, one can argue that Lowry does build the story towards the end; plot devices like Gifts (magical powers), the danger presented by Forest, and the Village-inspired love for others undeniably push Matty's self-sacrifice. But it is done in such an abrupt, disinterested way, barely dealt with after, leaving far, far to many questions left unanswered (The villagers recover from selling their souls, but do they learn their lesson? Do they feel remorse? Is Forest still dangerous? Are newcomers going to be allowed into Village?) and hardly acknowledging what a huge sacrifice this is. It almost seems like Lowry ran out of paper and had to rush to wrap everything up and squeeze it into the allotted space. I half expected Matty to recover, until the one line about keening, which we know from the beginning of the book is how the villagers mourn a death.

This waste of paper is allegedly the sequel to Gathering Blue and the Giver, two of Lowry's award winning books. Because of this, I'm going to go out on a limb, giving her the benefit of the doubt, and assume that a publisher demanded this. Matty, whom I presume makes an appearance in the other books (I haven't read Gathering Blue), has been living in Village with Seer, a blind man, since first taking refuge here as a young boy. Village is a special place deep in Forrest. While most of the towns surrounding Village are hard knock kind of places, Village is peaceful and utopian, populated by other refugees like Matty who have escaped hardships in the surrounding towns. Matty is a messenger, meaning he delivers messages in the village and often travels through Forest (and that's another thing, why can't Lowry call it THE village, or THE forest? WHY?) to deliver messages from the Villagers to family and friends outside Forest's boundaries. Matty, whose chief desire is to be given Messenger as his true name, is lucky, since Forrest seems to have an evil mind of its own. Sure, it'll let you creep through seeking sanctuary in Village, but forget going back; Forest tends to kill those who try to travel back or through it after having been through once, but is kind enough to give you a warning "tread my paths and I'll squish you with my vines" gouge to let you know though! However, things are going a bit wonky in Village; people seem to be changing, becoming cynical and meaner. They even want to shut Villages' boundaries and stop welcoming newcomers, and it may have something to do with Trademart, when the Villagers trade (their souls) for things they want. Way to be blatant, Lowry.

What's worse is that Forest seems to be getting meaner too, thickening and getting more dangerous. Meanwhile, Matty has discovered he has magical healing powers, and is promptly sent on a mission to post closing notices on all the paths and bring back Seer's daughter Kira before the bad Villagers finish constructing their Berlin Wall. However, Leader, Villages leader (go figure), cautions Matty not to use his magical powers too soon. But Forest is a nasty piece of work, and Matty and Kira find themselves subject to it's maniacal vices as they struggle to get back to Village before it is too late or they die. Since I already kind of spilled the beans above, and you obviously aren't going to read this stinker now (right?), I don't feel too bad about spoiling the ending. Matty dies, using up all his healing power to heal all of Forrest, Village, and the villagers, a cheap and easy out I wouldn't predict Lowry would go for. The end. Seriously, that's pretty much how it goes in the book too. Oh right, Leader posthumously gives Matty his true name: Healer. Can't a dead boy catch a break?

Best for: Grades 4-7, reading level wise.

Book talk hook: Yeah. RIGHT. I think I hated all over this book above sufficiently enough to not explain myself here. I also recommend it to no one, regardless of the easier reading level.