Adult Books 4 Teens: December 2011
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Fiction BRADLEY, Alan. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel. 320p. Delacorte. 2011. Tr $23. ISBN 978-0-385-34401-2. LC number unavailable. BROWNER, Jesse. Everything Happens Today. 216p. Europa. 2011. pap. $15. ISBN 978-1-60945-051-9. LC number unavailable. COLEMAN, Rebecca. The Kingdom of Childhood. 352p. Mira. 2011. pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7783-1278-9. LC number unavailable. CUTTER, Kimberly. The Maid. 304p. Houghton Harcourt. 2011. Tr $26. ISBN 9778-0-547-42752-2. LC number unavailable. GREGORY, Philippa. The Lady of the Rivers. 443p. (The Cousins' War Series). Touchstone. 2011. Tr $27.99. ISBN 978-1-4165-6370-9. LC number unavailable. HARBACH, Chad. The Art of Fielding. 512p. Little, Brown. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-1-316-12669-4. LC number unavailable. LINDQVIST, John Ajvide. Harbor. tr. from Swedish by Marlaine Delargy. 512p. Thomas Dunne. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 9787-0-312-68027-5. LC number unavailable. LIPPMAN, Laura. The Most Dangerous Thing. 342p. HarperCollins. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-06-172651-6. LC number unavailable. MABERRY, Jonathan. Dead of Night: A Zombie Novel. 368p. St. Martin's. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-312-55219-0. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–At first, they are not zombies. They are neighbors and acquaintances living in the small town of Stebbins, PA. But through governmental mishap, the infected body of a serial killer is sent to the Stebbins funeral home, where it rises out of the body bag and attacks the mortician. “Attacks,” in this case, means chewing the man’s throat out, but not killing him. Thus begins the invasion of the “hollow men,” people with the full consciousness of their human selves but trapped in a body that craves the taste of human flesh. It falls to a pair of police officers–voluptuous, hardened Dez Fox and her infinitely patient partner J.T.–to protect the people of Stebbins from the incomprehensible danger. At the same time, handsome journalist Billy Trout, Dez’s on-again, now off-again lover, is tracking down the evil genius behind the zombie epidemic. All of the requisite thriller elements come together as the zombies overtake the small community. There is government conspiracy, scientific malfeasance, unrequited sexual attraction, and, most importantly, plenty of gore. Faces are eaten off, limbs are severed, and body fluids leak in vivid detail. Short chapters keep the action moving. Maberry is an accomplished horror writer who keeps an intelligent sensibility running beneath the sensational action of his novel, and he has published a YA zombie series that begins with Rot & Ruin (S & S, 2010). Dead of Night is a definite teen magnet.–Diane Colson. New Port Richey Library, FL ROSEN, Lev AC. All Men of Genius. 462p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2794-9. LC number unavailable. SOLOMON, Anna. The Little Bride. 312p. Riverhead. 2011. pap. $15. ISBN 978-1594485350. LC number unavailable. WATSON, Larry. American Boy. 224p. Milkweed. 2011. Tr $24. ISBN 978-1-57131-078-1; spiral $24. ISBN 978-1-57131-846-6. LC 2011021334. WETTA, Stephen. If Jack's in Love. 358p. Amy Einhorn. 2011. Tr $25.95. ISBN 978-0-399-15752-3. LC 2011013746. Adult/High School–Jack is going on 13 the summer his older brother Stan threatens to kill golden boy Gaylord Joyner. A smart, sensitive boy, Jack is nevertheless an outcast, unable to overcome the small-town prejudices against his family. The Witchers live in the house that is ruining the neighborhood, with “trash” painted as a prank across the front and the yard piled high with junk. Jack’s father is unemployed; his brother a pot-smoking hippie with a violent streak. Neglected by his kind but frazzled, over-worked mother and increasingly afraid of his erratic brother, Jack turns to Mr. Gladstein, the local jeweler, for advice on his love life. For Jack has fallen in love with classmate Myra Joyner, an ill-fated love, especially once Gaylord disappears and everyone suspects Stan of his murder. Jack honestly doesn’t know if his brother did it, but he does have a secret about his brother’s whereabouts the night Gaylord disappeared. Despite the fact that “Witchers ain’t snitchers,” that secret quickly becomes too much for him. Set in late 1960s rural Virginia, Jack tells his story from the safe distance of adulthood. While his educated, adult language could have come off as pretentious (“My father was irregular in his employment, although there were times when he made genuine efforts to thwart the luckless demons that attended him”), it is instead affecting, and at times downright funny. The adults and kids of the town act within the confines of the roles to which their prejudices relegate them. Teens, particularly those sensitive to socio-economic status, will understand completely.– Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart. New York City Nonfiction PRAIN, leanne. Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery. 400p. diags. photos. index. Arsenal Pulp. 2011. pap. $29.95. ISBN 978-1-551152-4061. LC number unavailable. REISS, Diana. The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives. 288p. index. notes. Houghton Harcourt. 2011. Tr $27. ISBN 978-0-547-44572-4. LC number unavailable. SPIEGELMAN, Art. MetaMaus. illus. by author. 301p. diags. maps. photos. reprods. chron. index. Pantheon. 2011. Tr $35. ISBN 978-0-375-42394-9. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Twenty-five years after the publication of the book-length sequential art history of Spiegelman interpreting his father’s memories of the Holocaust, this lush volume offers myriad approaches to that work, an explanation of Spiegelman’s project, and introductions to the muses who sat with him across the decade of its making. Comprising three long and instructive “interviews” that examine his choice of subject, his selection of metaphors, and his medium of sequential art, this work offers a deep and unique examination appropriate to readers with interests in art, ethnics, and political history, Spiegelman’s specific story, and post-modern literature more generally. Deconstructing the how and why of particular pages in Maus (Pantheon, 1986, 1992) is not a workmanlike project but one that gives even more buoyancy to the work that made Spiegelman’s name synonymous with nonfiction comics, incisive sequential art critique, and even accessible Holocaust material. The full-color images lining these pages include draft illustrations, final productions, family snapshots, and archival material on which Spiegelman relied for insightful inspiration. A DVD provides page-by-page links to resource material as well as recordings of the interviews he made with his father. An essential addition to all school and public libraries. –Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA Graphic Novels AMIR. Zahra's Paradise. illus. by Khalil. 265p. illus. maps. appendix. glossary. notes. First Second. 2011. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-642-8. LC number unavailable. DUIN, Steve & Shannon Wheeler. Oil and Water. illus. by Shannon Wheeler. unpaged. Fantagraphics. Dec. 2011. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-60699-492-4. LC number unavailable. SOWA, Marzena. Marzi: A Memoir. tr. by Anjali Singh. illus. by Sylvain Savoia. 240p. Vertigo. 2011. pap. $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4012-2959-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Flavia de Luce, the audacious and precocious 11-year-old sleuth seen in Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009), The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (2010), and A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011, all Delacorte) is back at work in the same crumbling British manse, Buckshaw. It is the dead of winter during the Christmas holiday and Flavia’s father, desperate to raise funds, has rented the house to a movie crew. There is much drama surrounding the cast and crew of this movie, especially the lead actress Phyllis Wyvern, and Flavia is an astute observer of all the players. Amid the filming, Wyvern has agreed to perform a key scene from Romeo and Juliet as a fundraiser for the local church. The whole town turns out for this performance as a raging blizzard prevents anyone from leaving. Known for her love of chemistry, Flavia is working on some experiments to determine once and for all if Father Christmas really exists, but is sidetracked by discovering Wyvern’s body. As in the earlier novels, Flavia’s brilliance and cunning allow her to discover clues missed by the police. The twists and turns will keep readers engaged as will the moving and tender relationship further developed between Flavia and her loyal family retainer, Dogger. The overarching mystery that has run through all of these books is expressed by her unkind sister’s comment, “Hate you, Flavia? Do you really believe I hate you? Oh, how I wish I did! It would make things so much easier.” Give this to Flavia fans, mystery fans, and those who love a great story and a charming heroine.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
Adult/High School–Wes wakes up in the middle of the night on the New York City’s Upper East Side after drinking too much at a party and losing his virginity to the wrong girl. He slips out and walks to his family’s home in Greenwich Village, in despair over his lost naiveté and the end of his chances with Delia, the girl he has been trying to impress for a year. How did everything go so wrong in one night? A junior at Dalton School, Wes helps care for his mother, who is wasting away from MS; despises his father, a failed novelist who lives in the basement apartment; and parents his beloved 12-year-old sister, Nora. Through paralyzing angst, Wes spends his Saturday writing an essay on War and Peace, taking his sister to the movies, cooking sweetbreads at his mother’s request (a seven-hour ordeal), finding time to walk the dog, and figuring out what to do about Lucy, who may not be the wrong girl after all. Slowly, Wes realizes that nothing is quite what he thought and learns to let go of some of the burdens he has been shouldering. His stream-of-consciousness narrative, tangents and all, often literary, is pretentious, selfish, immature, naïve…and somehow sympathetic and even charming. Wes wants to do the right thing, but has no idea what that is. He lives in his own head, and is much too academically brilliant for his own good. Recommend this one to teens likely to have patience with the philosophical ramblings of a most unusual teen.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart. New York City
Adult/High School–Zach is the new kid at school, bursting with false bravado and hoping to catch the eye of that blonde girl, Fairen. He certainly doesn’t anticipate locking lips with the kindergarten teacher, Judy McFarland. For her part, Judy has loved her job as a Waldorf teacher for almost 20 years. But as the school year commences, her husband is engrossed in writing his doctoral dissertation, her two kids have rejected the New Agey-ness of their Waldorf upbringing, and her long-time friend and colleague has died of cancer. She is needy, and Zach becomes exactly what she needs. The novel follows the trajectory of an adolescent fantasy scenario: What happens if you actually do have sex with a teacher? While much of story is told from Judy’s viewpoint, laced with forewarnings of the tragedy ahead, Zach’s agony over the increasingly horrific affair is sure to resonate with teens. Readers who attended Waldorf schools, or unconventional schools of any type, will appreciate the clash between childhood wonder and adolescent cynicism experienced by Zach and his friends as they discover a world that contradicts their upbringing. The title is borrowed from a series of lectures by Waldorf founder, Rudolph Steiner, and aptly summarizes the inner conflict that torments both Judy and Zach. While the walls of the kingdom provide comfort and protection in childhood, they become but a fragile shelter from the reality of adulthood.–Diane Colson, formerly at New Port Richey Library, FL
Adult/High School–From almost the first page, two things become clear: young Joan, even as a battered and abused child, is special; and her religious fervor is very, very real. She suffers immensely at the hands of her peasant father, an unwanted burden he attempts to foist off on the highest bidder for marriage. But Joan is having none of it. She endures the abuse because she senses that her faith will bring her something better. When her salvation arrives in the form of her three saints, whose advice guides her every move, Joan quickly decides to abandon her family and follow their instructions. What follows is an excellent adventure novel that, amazingly, touches most of the bases of this incredible young militant’s life–her accurate read of the tide of battles, her vision of a major wound she suffers in battle, her survival from the plunge off a nearly 70-foot tower, unscathed. Joan even correctly predicts the timing of her own death long after her saints abandon her. Teens will be cheering the rise of this illiterate, painfully poor young girl from obscurity to world-wide renown. Even those who know how the story ends will find themselves hoping that history will somehow be changed by the end.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Adult/High School–Teen fans of historical fiction absolutely must have a Philippa Gregory book in their repertoire. In this title, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl (Touchstone, 2004) brings yet another woman unknown to most readers but whose very presence helps to set in motion events that impact history. As the latest in a long line of women with “the sight,” Jacquetta attracts the attention of the Duke of Bedford who marries her so that he can use her skill to help him reach the alchemist’s dream of turning iron into gold. This doesn’t happen of course, and after his death, Jacquetta, now Duchess of Bedford marries beneath her station for love. Richard Woodville is a faithful husband as well as a loyal subject of the insane King Henry VI. As lady-in-waiting to Queen Margaret (known to her subjects and history as a “she-wolf”) Jacquetta is at the front and center of what will later be known as the “Wars of the Roses.” Passion, adventure, and a touch of witchcraft keep readers on edge as court intrigue shifts and changes with the unpredictability of King Henry’s madness. As the first in an expected series, this title will make teens want to continue reading to find out what happens to the next generation. Recommend Gregory’s recent nonfiction effort The Women of the Cousins’ War (Touchstone, 2011) to those who are curious about the history.–Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Adult/High School–When Henry Skrimshander plays shortstop, it’s like watching fine ballet. His mystical ability attracts the attention of Mike Schwartz, a baseball player from tiny Westish College, who acts as the de facto recruiter for the team. So Henry arrives at Westish to begin his freshperson year, armed with his trusty baseball glove, Zero, and his battered copy of The Art of Fielding, written by Henry’s idol, Aparicio Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a legendary shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, holds the record for consecutive errorless games, which Henry may break. If he doesn’t choke, that is. Choking is something of a theme in this wonderful novel. Westish President Affenlight is choking back his love for Henry’s roommate, Owen, a Zenlike boy who is affectionately dubbed “Buddah.” Affenlight’s daughter, Pella, is choking on the challenge of finding her own path after she flees her stifling marriage. And Henry does choke, on the field and in life, as his magical baseball abilities seem to disappear. Teens who like baseball, or any sport, will appreciate the rough camaraderie of the team and the pressure on an athlete to perform perfectly. There is plenty of romance as well. The book is filled with literary allusions, particularly to the works of Melville, but it is also funny, bittersweet, and peppered with kooky plot twists that keep readers entranced. This is a great introduction to modern writers who blend the everyday with the philosophical, such as Jonathan Franzen or Tom Perrotta.–Diane Colson, formerly of New Port Richey Library, FL
Adult/High School–The waters giveth, the waters taketh away. Though providing a beautiful setting and a good livelihood for the people of Domarö, the seas surrounding the island exact a price. The disappearance of a small child–one in a series of disappearances and strange occurrences that residents prefer to let go unexplained–sets off a search to uncover the secrets of the waters that, while well known, are never discussed. Readers learn that the island’s inhabitants have a long history of being bullied by the waters and that one man–a former magician–has a special relationship with them. What begins as a struggle to uncover the truth about their power turns into a man’s unyielding quest to bring back his missing daughter. Horrifying things do happen in this book, but the events are described in a semi-mystical way, with a very matter of fact tone that lets readers keep some degree of distance from what’s happening. Not unlike Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk, 2011), the mystery of the terrifying incidents is unraveled in a way that is more fantasy than horror. This is a good choice for teens who enjoy scary stories but don’t want to be kept up at night.–Carla Riemer, Berkeley High School, CA
Adult/High School–Secrets change lives, and Lippman's new stand-alone novel features two secrets among different groups–childhood friends and their parents. The three Halloran brothers didn't know how to handle pretty Gwen and tomboy Mickey when they crashed their kickball game, but soon the five of them are an exclusive group. In the days when seeing lightening bugs meant it was time to head home, the friends find themselves exploring the woods, daring each other to forge deeper. They discover a broken down cabin and a possibly deranged man they name Chicken George. For the rest of the summer they escape to the cabin whenever they can, loving the thrill of doing what their parents would surely forbid. Romantic feelings blossom among the group and jealousy simmers below the surface until one night something horrible happens. They band together to tell an altered story to their parents, and Chicken George ends up dead. Decades later the friends have split apart, but all have kept the secret, until Go-Go, the youngest, dies in a way that suggests suicide. It seems the parents kept their own secret, and now there's no stopping the consequences. Lippman takes a common set-up--the secret pact to conceal a tragedy–and freshens it up with complex characters. The narrative flashbacks and varying points of view include significant time on middle-aged characters, and may be challenging to follow for some readers, but the sinister undertones and theme of sexual tensions keep the pages turning.–Priscille Dando, Robert E. Lee High School, Fairfax County, VA
Adult/High School–The Importance of Being Earnest meets Twelfth Night in this steampunk fantasy. Violet Adams obsessed with science and inventions, but in Victorian England, there aren’t many doors open to young women. Certainly not the doors to Illyria, the science college. What else is a girl genius to do? She swaps identity with her twin brother, Ashton–a fabulously gay blade who is witty and sharp as a tack–and heads off to Illyria, immersing herself in the life of a young male college student while trying to dodge the innocent advances of Cecily, the Duke of Illyria's ward, herself a smart young inventor. The problem, of course, is that Violet is falling for the duke, who is worried that his attraction to her is not acceptable, or “inverted.” This tale of cross dressing, science, romance, and rampaging automatons, complete with a host of quirky professors who might remind readers of those in the “Harry Potter” series, will delight teens, as will the rough and tumble descriptions of college life, with the young men’s focus on sex and drinking. Rosen’s wonderfully inventive vision of Victorian-era London has just enough staples of steampunk–automatons, super-light airships, and analog computers (the inventor of the first computer, Ada Lovelace, is a wonderful character here). The romance will appeal to fans of Gail Carriger’s “Parasol Protectorate” series (Orbit). The villain, the blackmailing Malcolm Volio, is a bit underdeveloped and so his comeuppance feels a little less than satisfactory. Otherwise, a brilliantly fun novel.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Adult/High School– In late 19th-century Russia, Minna Losk carries the stigma of family disgrace. If only she can manage a lasting marriage, she knows she can find redemption and a chance to live for herself, a luxury she was denied when she lost her parents. A 16-year-old servant, she longs to escape draining physical labor and the horrors of the pogroms. Hoping for a new life in America, Minna signs with Rosenfeld’s Bridal Service. After enduring a probing physical and psychological exam, she’s declared fit for a match and sent to the hardscrabble South Dakota Territory. Her husband-to-be falls far short off her dreams; devoutly Orthodox Max is more than twice her age. He is more suited to Talmudic study than farming, and his homesteading abilities are sorely lacking. His teenage sons look to a more skilled, Christian neighbor as a role model. Minna struggles to make house in a crude one-room dugout while submitting to her spousal obligations. Her mind races. Will Max turn her out when she fails to bear a child? Does he realize she doesn’t pray? Worst of all, does he see that she’s in love with his oldest son? First-time novelist Solomon fully fleshes out all of her characters, making them believable and sympathetic. The Little Bride explores themes of love, family, community, and the consequences of fervent belief. What will God forgive? Solomon turns her extensive research on Jewish homesteaders into fascinating, page-turning historical fiction. Rich in language and detail, this novel will appeal to teens who enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and are ready for more adult storytelling.–Paula J. Gallagher, Baltimore County Public Library, MD
Adult/High School–There is an air of familiarity to American Boy, a coming-of-age story set in rural Minnesota in the early 1960s. Shedding the innocence of adolescence, struggling to accommodate obsessive lust, and realizing that adults are not always what they seem are issues that fuel the genre. What distinguishes this novel is the ease with which Watson creates atmospheric breadth and emotional depth for his characters to explore. Matt Garth is an angry, impulsive teen from a broken home. His best friend’s family accepts Matt as one of their own, despite their difference in social standing and values. Matt admires and idealizes Dr. Dunbar, Johnny’s father and the esteemed town doctor, and is an eager student of medical practice. When an enigmatic young waitress in town is shot by her boyfriend and subsequently treated at the home office of Dr. Dunbar, Matt and Johnny are allowed to see the sutures on the wound of the anesthetized woman. However, when the sheet slips, they glimpse the breast of Louisa Lendhal and Matt becomes obsessed with lust for her. He struggles with the impossibility of his feelings for her even as he schemes to pursue a sexual encounter with her. His increasingly erratic behaviors cause a rift with Johnny and draw the wrath of the suddenly righteous Dr. Dunbar. American Boy honestly reflects the experiences of a teen re-configuring the puzzle pieces of emotions, sex, relationships, self, and the complexities of adulthood.–John Sexton, Greenburgh Public Library, NY
Adult/High School–Hoopla covers everything anyone would want to know about embroidery and more. The history of embroidery is briefly introduced, followed by well-organized chapters that discuss tools and materials, basic stitches, finishing techniques and include a helpful range of resources. The bulk of the book is filled with interviews and full-color photos of more than 25 unconventional contemporary artists who have taken embroidery to a whole new dimension. These artists specialize in freeform designs that very often have profound political or social messages. The hours and detail involved in each piece are astounding, yet many of the artists speak of the calming and meditative nature of embroidery. Also included are more than 25 projects with many photos and detailed instructions. Push Stitchery: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Stitched Art (Lark, 2011) features many additional artists passionate about needlework. While a few designs encompassing war scenes, gun, and-body part imagery might be unsettling for some, teens who are interested in starting a new art form or those who already embroider will find much inspiration here.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
Adult/High School–Reiss illustrates how dolphins have long captured human interest and imagination, featured prominently in mythology as well as in popular media. Her interest in cetacean intelligence was sparked by a New York Times article on the killing of whales and dolphins. This book chronicles her behavioral research with numerous dolphins, mostly in captivity, beginning in the late 1970s. She writes engagingly about the subjects to which she became emotionally attached, a point she argues made her a better, more in-tune researcher. Now director of dolphin research at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Reiss describes the process of developing a hypothesis, devising a method for testing it, and following through in repeated trials. Early work showed communication via an underwater keyboard for requesting desired toys, while later research proved self-awareness using submerged mirrors. Teens with an interest in animal behavior will find themselves caught up in her fascinating findings and anecdotes. Readers will be intrigued by Circe, who issued a “time out” to Dr. Reiss when her fish hadn’t been properly de-finned, and Stormy, who perfected the art of blowing bubble rings for her own amusement. The book ends on a somber note, as the author details fishing practices that endanger the species. She implores readers to become activists and take a stand against dolphin drives in Japan, which result in the inhumane deaths of thousands of animals each year. After reading this book, teens may be motivated to lend their voices to the cause.–Paula J. Gallagher, Baltimore County Public Library, MD
Adult/High School–Amir, an experienced Iranian American journalist, and Khalil, a graphic artist for whom this is a first novel, have produced a story so compelling and revealing that it serves to articulate what plain facts too often fail to communicate in terms of relationships, both familial and political. A family searches for a missing 19-year-old student in the wake of the June 2009 demonstrations against rigged elections in Iran. Hassan, his older brother, works unceasingly across the next weeks to unearth Mehdi’s fate. With a well-defined cast of characters, readers move from the Alevi home into the streets, bureaucracies, prisons, and the gardens of Tehran. The realistic black-and-white cartoons are filled with active expressions of faces and gestures. Crowd scenes seem to swell on these pages while scenes of torture communicate the process of alienation that accompanies dehumanizing penal methods. Scenes of adult love making, brutality, and grief are presented as fully appropriate to the story. Footnotes explain necessary use of Persian phrases without making the panels too complex, and a glossary explains terms at greater length. A series of appendixes explains how social media, an internationally acclaimed Brazilian author, and the Omid Memorial to lives lost since 1979 to foreign funded civil violence are true facts in this story, the title of which is the real name of Tehran’s large cemetery.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
Adult/High School–In the summer of 2010, a group of Portland, Oregonians, flew to Louisiana to get ground-level experience in the environmental and social-justice problems highlighted by the BP oil spill on the heels of Katrina. The group included variously focused activists, including an environmental scientist, a barista, and a newspaper reporter, as well as the teen offspring of two of the (unrelated) adults. Duin and Wheeler do an accessible and engaging job of showing how the "rescuers" and the locals they met saw and interpreted one another, and the limits of liberal action when individuals jump in before ascertaining history and cultural burdens each side brings to the table. Several unique discoveries are detailed here as well: a sweet and nicely presented love interest developing between the teens; a member of the original party gets separated almost from the start and decides to stay after everyone else returns to Portland; the dichotomy between the locals’ kind words and actions and their real feelings about the outsiders. The crime of the corporate disaster and the governmental mishandling remains at center stage. The large black-and-white images are realistic and create individual characteristics for the cast; its smudged texture is an excellent vehicle for the intrusion of oil on beaches, birds, livelihoods, and prospects for the future. Quick to read, but of lasting weight for readers from either side of the divide.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
Gr 9 Up–Sowa, who was born in 1979 and spent her childhood in Poland behind the Iron Curtain, recalls episodes from family, school, and her social life as a child. Her storytelling is nicely arced, with each 1- to 10-page recollection exploring how those around her either aided or impeded her developing understanding of both her private and public worlds. Savoia’s bouncy art depicts a little Marzi who is as skinny as she says she was, bright but far from nerdy, and cute as can be, her large eyes often winking in concentration or incredulity as she overhears snippets of adult conversations about money and rations, relatives and neighbors, and the dramatic changes coming in the state. Her father’s warmth and her mother’s sternness place readers right in Marzi’s shoes as she faces the emptied market bin without the fruit she longed to acquire, suffers in a tight-necked First Communion dress, and navigates the perils of a three-way (and thus unstable) best friendship. Snippets of Polish remain in the dialogue and signage, but context allows ready understanding by English-speaking audiences. A hit in Europe in an ongoing series of comics, Marzi shows Americans what it was like to live through a time of political upheaval as well as universal childhood dramas.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
