Diamond in the Rough

Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney

Delacorte Press, 2007

ISBN: 9780385732611

228 pages

4.5 of 5

The Finch family doesn't know that five refugees have landed from Africa on the day they do to the airport to welcome the family sponsored by their church.  The Finch family only knows about the four refugees they're meeting: Andrew, Celestine, Mattu, and Alake--father, mother, teenage song and daughter.

Jared Finch was horrified and angry when he learned from his minister that his parents had agreed to take in this African refugee family.  Jared is not amused that he'll have to share his home with a family who have never used a phone, driven a car, or seen a supermarket full of food.  Jared's annoying younger sister, Mopsy, immature as usual, is so thrilled to share her room with an unknown girl that she's jumping up and down.

The Amabo family, who have suffered unimaginable horrors, begin to adjust to a life of plenty in the Finches' suburban Connecticut home.  And the Finches begin to realize that what they have understood about charity has been very little indeed.  Still, life seems good.

The fifth refugee does not believe in good.  This lawless rebel has managed to enter American undetected.  And the Amabo family has something of his--something that they agreed to carry into the country for him.

When Jared realizes that the good guys are not always innocent, he must make a decision that could change the fates of both the Finches and the Amabos.  In this uncommonly penetrating story, Caroline B. Cooney presents many points of view and a fresh perspective on doing the right thing. (From the book jacket)

Completely enraptured.  I spent most of a day just reading this book.  I actually left work late just so I didn't have to stop reading it.  One of the most intriguing lines comes early in the novel: "In a civil war," Crick said, "there are no good guys.  They're all guilty of something.  You are probably not saving the innocent, because in a civil war, nobody is innocent."  It seems a terrible way to introduce a community to an incoming refugee family, but the way this small piece (from an auxiliary character) plays out through the novel is absolutely wonderful.

The characters of both families each have their own personalities and their own secrets and fears.  I won't say that all the characters are fully developed, because some are definitely more important than others.  But even the characters that are neglected are given alibis of sorts; it's just a perfectly crafted novel. 

So with the glowing review above, why the 4.5 and not a 5?  Even though I was hooked by the end of the novel, it takes some time to gear up.  Also, even though I understood where Jared was coming from, I didn't like the introduction to him.  He struck me as superficial and selfish and when I started the book I wasn't in the mood for that type of narrator.

Zombie Mayhem

The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Hyperion, 2010
ISBN: 9781423131755
448 pages

I can't wait to read this!  The book trailer for this new Zombie book was recently released and it's pretty great. There are two versions: the extended "epic" version and the condensed version.  Both are posted for your viewing pleasure.  A word of warning: the epic version can get a bit gross.

 

Smiles to Go

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

Joanna Cotler Books, 2008

ISBN: 9780060281335

272 pages

Rating: 3 of 5

Everything changes the day ninth-grade Will Tuppence learns one startling fact: protons--those tiny atomic particles, the building-blocks to the building-blocks of life--can die.  The one thing that was so certain in this world to Will has an expiration date. 

And Will's carefully planned-out life?

Not so certain, either.

Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli tips Will's world on its side to show that the beauty and wonder of life is in not knowing what comes next.

I'll start off saying that it took me two tries to get going with this book.  Part of it could be that after starting it, I went on vacation for a week and lost the mood. The other part is the book itself.  Even the second time, it took a bit for me to get interested in it.  It's leisurely paced and calculated, like the main character Will Tuppence, who has a scientific mind and enjoys breaking life into measurable parts. 

Will is obsessed with the proton; all his life he has believed that somethings existed that was indestructible.  One morning he learns otherwise and it turns his world upside down.  This event is the catalyst for all other events in the book.  The death of the proton changes Will's view of his world. This provides a different backdrop for the typical teen experience of experiencing love for the first time, coming to terms with other people's choices and dealing with a bratty younger sister.

It took some time but toward the end of the book I decided I liked it.  It's not going on my top ten list, but it was worth the read.

Sunshine State Readers!

The Sunshine State Readers were announced over a month ago, but I'm finally starting to get them in.  There are quite a few here that will undoubtedly grab the attention of boys.  The ones in bold are ones I will come back to once I've read them.  (The ones with the * are interesting but I'm not sure about them yet; so these are ones I might come back to.)  In the meantime, enjoy the list and Happy Independence Day!

 Seer of Shadows by Avi

Taken by Edward Bloor*

Diamonds in the Shadows by Caroline B. Cooney*

Football Hero by Tim Green

Great Wide Sea by M.L. Herlong

Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Billy Creekmore by Tracey Porter

Lost Time by Susan Maupin Schmid

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer*

Changeling by Delia Sherman

I.Q.: Independence Hall by Roland Smith

Mercy on These Teenage Chimps by Gary Soto

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

Part Novel. Part Comic. Malice

Malice by Chris Wooding

Scholastic Press, 2009

ISBN: 9780545160438

379 pages

Once you're in the story, there's no way out.

Everyone's heard the rumors.  If you gather the right things and say the right words, you'll be taken to Malice, a world that exists inside a horrifying comic book.  It's a world that few kids know about...and even fewer survive.

Seth and Kady think it's all a silly myth.  But then their friend disappears, and suddenly the rumors don't seem silly after all.

Malice is real.  Malice is deadly. And Seth and Kady are about to be trapped inside it.

Perfectly creepy.  These are the two words I would use to describe this book if I only had two; luckily I get a few than two.  When I finally decided it was time to read this book, I happened to pick it up at bedtime.  Not quite a mistake, but I had to read something else a little less spooky before my mind could rest.  Within the first part (I'm not sure I can call it a chapter per se) the tone of the entire novel was set.

The story revolves around three friends: two boys, Luke and Seth, and a girl, Kady.  The girl is not a girly girl by any means, so other than her feminine name, she's just one of the guys.  At various intervals the three find themselves in Malice where danger really does lurk around every turn.

As noted above Malice is part novel, part comic.  I'll be the first (perhaps second) to inform you that it is predominately a novel, but the comic portions are well placed and definitely add to the overall story.  It's like you're gotten a copy of the underground comic yourself.

 This book is also the first in a series.  I'm not sure how many are planned, but I do know there is a sequel due out in October.  I can't help but wonder (perhaps, dare I say, hope?) that as the novels progress the ratio of novel to comic shift to become more even or slide farther to the comic side.  Hoping this is a HUGE compliment from me.  I have never found comics all that appealing.  

In any case, I enjoyed being spooked by Malice and am waiting with bated breath for the next one.  It comes out just in time for my birthday!

The paperback edition is available August 1 pre-order now!