The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.” William Shakespeare

The Fault in our Stars
        By John Green

It has taken me a long time and a lot of distance to review this book.  The Fault in Our Stars is about cancer.  Specifically it is about teenagers and cancer.  It is hard to read and I wasn't sure if I could or even wanted to.  I'm glad that I did.  Hazel Grace is our protagonist.  She has terminal cancer.  It is a type of cancer that has been terminal since the beginning.  Her attitude was one of treading lightly.  She wanted her death to cause as little mess as possible; wanted to leave a faint footprint.  This is a very different book from what I was expecting.  I thought it was going to be a "6 months to live" type sob story that was popular when I was a teenager.  In those books, the patient wanted to make a difference, have the last days count, touch as many lives as possible and be remembered.  They make cancer out to be slightly romantic.  This book is not like that.  John Green was very brave about writing this.  He shows cancer as messy, gut wrenching and real.  This is much more than a sob story.  It tackles big issues like the meaning of our existence.  Perhaps we are not as big of a deal as we think.  Most of us will walk this earth, do our best and leave this earth and hopefully cause very little damage.  Only a handful of the masses will do something earth shattering and that is ok.  It is also surprisingly funny.  He is a very witty writer and this book is no different.  I think my favorite line is when Hazel says to Augustus, "It's embarrassing that we all just walk through life blindly accepting that scrambled eggs are fundamentally associated with breakfast."  John Green and his books are proof that to be a young adult author, you do not have to write drivel.  There is no need to constantly repeat words such as "like" and "totally" to persuade teenagers to read and appreciate it.  I think authors like John Green challenge young people to think and grow.  I know I have been.

Dirty, stinking, rotters

Rotters by Daniel Kraus

How do I feel about Rotters?  My first thought is, this book is not for everyone.  It will push you to the edge of your comfort level and then a little further.  The graphic details of what it means to be a digger will make you cringe but leave you wanting more.  The complexities behind the diggers, their morals, motives and codes of conduct confuse you.  You want to hate these men, they are grave robbers but you don't.  You like them, you begin, with Kraus' help, to identify with them, you see yourself in them as you watch them toil with their daily struggles of surviving in a world they are not part of.  Initially, you love to hate Harnett, and then as he begins to teach Joey, you start to become attached.  There is someone underneath all of the filth and as it starts to crumble away, you see a complex man that is passionate about what he does.  He isn’t just a grave robber.  He is a ressurectionist. 

Daniel Kraus has a brilliant grasp of the English language and can wield it until you see things exactly as he describes.   His characters come to life and you can see them, smell them, hear them.   They are wonderfully unique from anything I have read before.  All they want to do is become oblivion but we will never forget them.   Joey, Harnett, Boggs, Lionel and many more, all characters that are fascinating and splendid.   I was looking for a good book that was gripping and well written and Rotters did not disappoint.   YA authors look out; the bar has been raised.

Terrible Twits

The Twits by Roald Dahl

I just finished reading this to Doodle.  It is about two wretched people, Mr. and Mrs. Twit, that appear to hate each other.  They spend the first half of the book playing mean tricks on each other and the second half attempting to eat birds.  It is a very discriptive book and has a picture about every other page.  Doodle liked it (Lula would stand up when we pulled the book out and say "I'm not listening to that.") because of the delightful evil anticts of the two but was not particularily excited about it.  Until the last third of the book, it reads like a collection of short stories.  That is fine but doesn't envoke a feeling of anticipation.  Other chapter books we've read usually have some sniffles at the end of each chapter because Doodle is not ready to be done and can't wait to hear what comes next.  Not so with this book.  I'll be honest, this wasn't my favorite book to read aloud.  Some books I can't wait to read to them and don't want to miss out of the experience, this one I would skip.  I reccomend it to kids about 7 or so that can read on their own and leave the grown ups out of it!

Beastly or Ghastly?

Beastly by Alex Flinn

I'm not really sure where to begin with this.  I think most know the story behind Beauty and the Beast.  Shallow, mean and vain young man irritates the wrong girl (that is really a witch) and she turns him into a hideous beast.  He has a set amount of time to find someone that can look past the nightmare of how he looks and fall in love with him.  He, in return, must love her.  Roses, mirrors and rooms filled with broken furniture are usually involved.  This story is no different.  Kyle Kingsbury is rich, spoiled and mean-spirited teenager.  He seeks out opportunities to show the world what kind of filth he really is.  He leads a "goth" girl to believe he is going to escort her to prom and then shows up with another (equally disgusting) girl in an effort to humiliate her.  The goth girl turns out to be a witch and transforms Kyle into a beast.  His dad locks him up in a New York estate with a tutor and a maid.  Enter low-life dad of Lindy. He breaks into the house one night and was caught by Kyle (or Adrian, as his teenage, angsty self prefers to go by).  In exchange for his freedom, he gives Kyle is daughter.  Blah Blah blah, he falls in love, lets her go, she comes back (just in time of course), they kiss, spell is broken. I apologize if I just spoiled it for you.  Critics claim it has a "twist."  I, personally, don't see it.  It is told from the beast's point of view but I think that most other versions (including Disney) do a pretty thorough job of mapping out the beast's feelings and motivations.  I don't know that we need to dedicate an entire book to it.  The big difference is online shopping. Kyle does a lot of it. I don't remember that in any other version.  The online chatting, however, is RIDICULOUS!!  He chats with other (very Disneyish) characters that either have been transformed or want to be.  I loathed those parts of the book.  I was unimpressed with the book in general.  By all means, retell a much loved story but intrigue us please!  If I had to recommend it to someone it would be junior high girls only, I think.

Jane

Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

This lovely book starts with a sweet black and white picture of a little girl holding her chimpanzee, very similar to the drawing.  We learn that her chimp is called Jubilee and she dreams of living in the jungle and helping animals.  The little girl goes to sleep one night and when she wakes up she really is in the jungle.   Who knew, this story is about Jane Goodall!  I had no preconceptions of this book, what-so-ever when we picked it up.  I am trying to collect all Caldecott winners and Caldecott honor books starting from 1937.  This received the honor in 2012 and although we have not read the award winner (A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka), I think this would have gotten my vote to win.  I had no idea that it was about Jane Goodall until the last page when the little girl woke up in the jungle and there was a picture of Jane with a real chimpanzee.  The illustrations are adorable and I loved the real life photographs incorporated in at the beginning and the end.  She really did have a chimp called Jubilee as well.  We used this story to talk about what Doodle and Lula wanted to be when they grew up and how even dreams at 3 and 5 are attainable!  Highly recommend his book to all preschool and school aged kids.  Also a great lead in for some interesting natural history lessons.