Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ships Boy. L.A. Meyer, (2002).
NY: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152167315
This book, in a word, is ship-shape! Bloody Jack is the first in a series of books about the adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, an orphan from the streets of London, who assumes the identity of a boy to escape the fight to survive on the city streets. This cross-dressing endeavor is otherwise known to Jacky and her captive audience as "The Deception." Her only skill to speak of is the rare ability to read and write, and more than anything, she fears dying and having her body sold to doctors for medical research, as happens with most street urchins in the London of 1797. She gets a job as one of six ships boys aboard a pirate-fighting naval ship, and thus begins her life of adventure on the open seas…but there is a catch! Since carrying a fair, sweet lass aboard a ship is bad luck, Jacky's got to keep the crew from uncovering "The Deception." Jacky is clever, inventive, and scrappy. She fashions and wears a codpiece, finds secret ship nooks in which to make a lady friendly bathroom (i.e. to pee sitting down), and makes herself useful during squirmishes, earning her the moniker "Bloody Jack." But some things can't be stopped, and Aunties Flow and Curves join her aboard the HMS Dolphin, making "The Deception" all the more tricky, necessary, and complicated when she develops a big ole crush on her fellow ship's boy, Jaime, and a big creepster of a pedophile develops a crush on Jacky. With a big bad French pirate named LeFievre on the loose, Jamie convinced he may be gay, an undeniable talent for sewing, and "The Deception" getting trickier by the day, Jacky certainly has her hands full!
This historical fiction novel doesn't take liberties where it easily could; Jacky isn't a feminist, even though she knows she can do what all the men can do. Meyer sticks with the mentality of the time, even if Jacky herself is an historical anomaly. I can totally get behind the slangy Cockney narrative voice ("Today, after our duties, I'm sitting down with me shiv in my lap and I'm carving a rooster's head on the hilt of it in remembrance of Charlie whose shiv it was original."), which adapts not just to reflect where Jacky comes from, but how far she's come and where she's going, and reflects just what a little character she is. I can't wait to read the next one!
Best for: This would probably be most enjoyed by girl's ages 12-15 who like adventure, historical fiction, and pirates (especially due to that visit from Aunties Flow and Curves). I'd also recommend it to fans of the Tamora Pierce Alana books.
Book talk hook: I'd give a short summary of the plot and then read the bathing scene, Jacky's first major deception as a boy aboard a ship, when the Captain orders the ships boys scrubbed down and Jacky strategically places soap suds to disguise herself below decks. GET IT? Chortles abound.
American Born Chinese. Gene Luen Yang (2006).
NY: First Second. ISBN: 978-0312384487
I'm a reluctant reader of sorts, the graphic novel sorts. This is only the second graphic novel I've ever read, while I enjoyed the first, I wouldn't say I was eager to read another. This one caught my eye first, if I'm honest, because it is colorful, and second, if I'm honest, because it's short! By the end of the first section (it is in three parts), I was totally digging it for all the reasons I've avoided graphic novels in the past: the colorful, cartoony illustrations, the teeny thought bubble text, and the crazy emphatic action words. Perhaps it helps that this is a smart graphic novel, disguised as a comic book. This allows some weighty questions about racial identity and acceptance to sneak up on the reader, and not in an interfering way either.
Yang's story begins with three, seemingly unrelated stories: a retelling of the famous myth of the Monkey King, that of Jin Wang, the child of Chinese immigrants, and Danny, a Justin Timberlake lookalike with a crazy stereotypical Chinese cousin named Chin-kee (major play on words and into this stereotype) who is enrolling in Danny's high school during his extended visit. He gives each story ample air time, but the stories really shine when he begins to weave them together in an unanticipated fashion, which is really where the strength of the story lies. While each character has their own problems and challenges (the Monkey King desires equal god status, Jin Wang wants to fit in at his all white school, and Danny just wants to fly under the radar, while still getting the girl), these personal challenges have one common theme: acceptance, both of oneself, of others, and by others.
Best for: This book is fabulous and I highly recommend it. It covers weighty issues with no heavy lifting by employing the graphic and illustrative format, and consequently is an easy, yet sly sell to reluctant readers. This also makes it fun and accessible, and is great for both boys and girls of all YA ages. Also, I found out months after reading this that it won the Prinz in 2007. I salute you, my critically confirmed good taste. Self high five.
Book talk hook: The beautiful, colorful illustrations are all that I'd really need to sell this book to the audience I'd target for this at a book talk: young male readers. I'd probably do a summary, but since there is so much going on story wise, brevity is a wise choice.
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.
White Darkness, Geraldine McCaughrean (2007).
NY: Harper Tempest. ISBN: 0060890355
Prinz Winner, 2008
What do you get when you mix a crazy man, Antarctica, imaginary friends, and a teenage girl? Oh, you get an award winning coming of age story about surviving the unsurvivable for YA's, that's what you get. Sym, short of Symmone, is a partially deaf, precocious 14 year old English school girl. Her late father's business partner, Uncle Victor, has up and spirited her away on her dream vacation: a no-holds barred trip to Antarctica. Sym, you see, has a slight, no, make that major life-long obsession with "The Ice," as those cool enough to hang out there call it (teehee! Inadvertant pun). She is so obsessed with The Ice that her imaginary friend manifests as Captain Lawrence "Titus" Oates, one of the ill fated members of Scott's death march on The Ice. Yes, you read that correctly, Sym is 14, not 4, and has an imaginary-dead-guy-bff. And yeah, she's totally 14 because she has a pseudo-crush on said imaginary-dead-guy-bff. But bear with, all two of you reading this, and/or White Darkness, because despite sounding totally bizzare, this is actually a great book.
Sym is not just super excited about her trip, she is super naïve, and while she thinks about how it's probably shady her Uncle Victor hasn't allowed contact with her mom, or how it's not the greatest idea to miss a month of school, she doesn't dwell too much on this. She is less than impressed by her fellow travelers, barring a cute Norwegian boy named Sigurd, who is accompanying his famous movie director father on a scouting trip. Though lame they may be, in the company of rational and sane adults Uncle Victor's halo starts to tarnish. Sym is forced to begin admitting to herself that Uncle Victor might be a tad off, perhaps a tad insane, especially after he claims to be on The Ice to discover Symm's Hole, the purported gaping hole that leads to another world housed inside this one, matrushka doll styles. Of course, this relevation doesn't dawn fully on Sym until after Uncle Victor dopes the whole camp and sets off with Sym, Sigurd, and Sigurd's dad in a stolen Antarctica Hummer. Also, Titus, except he's imaginary; also, dead. Sym is forced into the fight for her life, stuck between wanting to believe her beloved Uncle Victor and knowing, as one obsessed with The Ice does, that this is a death march he's dragged them onto, much like the one Scott dragged Titus on.
While White Darkness takes a bit of getting used to, I enjoyed it, finding myself hooked by adrenaline driven plot, revealed character motivations, and my desire to simultantaneously shake some sense into and cheer Sym on. Sym narrates, but often alternates between narrating, having conversations with her imaginary friend Titus (denoted with italics), and having flashbacks. At certain points, the narrative styles meld, blending the line between reality, imagination, and hallucination, which lends an air of tense credibility to this survival of the fittest tale. Moreover, the changes in voice help the reader (via Sym) become less trusting and more cynical, savvy, and finally, driven to survive at all costs. Lastly, props to McCaughrean for including a synopsis of the Scott expedition in the back of the book. It gives credence to this tale by validating Titus' story and helping the reader see the parallels between his story and Sym's.
Best for: Because the narrative style is quite different, I recommend this book for grades 9 and up. While I'd recommend this book to boys and girls above the ninth grade, something about the cover screams girl. It's too bad, because this is a great survival story that has the appeal to attract boys as well.
Book talk hook: I'd sell this as a straight adventure story. I'd perhaps have kids raise their hands to see who had been in the coldest atmosphere (Obviously I'd win. Thanks, Canada), and then describe the conditions on The Ice. I'd then go on to ask how many of them would go on an all expenses paid trip to Antarctica, followed by who would go if their "Uncle" hadn't told their mother? How about if you knew he'd stolen her passport so she couldn't go? Etc. etc, leading to a brief synopsis with the point being "Well, Sym did this. Does she survive?"
