Jackie Urbanovic - Duck books

 

Somehow I missed Jackie Urbanovic's initial duck book, Duck at the Door, wherein she introduces us to her wit and charming characters - including title character Duck. I found Duck Soup first and fell in love with it as a stand-alone book. Only recently did I find that there are other books about this great cast of characters.











As a mom who loves to use voices during read-aloud time, Duck Soup gave me every opportunity to do so. Add to that a great plot line where Duck's friends are sure -SURE!- that Duck is IN the soup (GASP!)...and you see how this is a winner. 

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 

If ever there was a writer whose dialogue makes me laugh out loud (or want to meet his characters in real life), it's John Green. Sadly, I did not get to meet him before we left the Indy area. Perhaps we can blame this on the fact that I only recently discovered his work.

I have since read two other books by Mr. Green, both of which won the Printz Award : Looking for Alaska, and An Abundance of Katherines. 

Funny enough, it was The Fault in Our Stars that I enjoyed most. It centers on Hazel, a teenage girl who has cancer and doesn't really live until she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group. While this has all the makings of a weepy romance produced by Hallmark, this book has enough wit and realism to make Hallmark look away. It is possibly one of the best books I've ever read which deals with the messiness and ugliness and truth about dying.

Chloe and the Lion by Marc Barnett and Adam Rex

First off, I love Adam Rex's style. And this whole book concept is brilliant. You can see from the cover that both author, Marc, and illustrator, Adam, have roles to play. In the grand style of Mo Willems' pigeon and so many other recent children's authors, the reader is front and center in the book, being told things from their points of view. My kids go gaga for this!

If you want a book that is fun to read aloud AND will make your child grab the book out of your hands the minute you're done so they can read it AGAIN to themselves, well -here is a great one.

Look at Me by Jennifer Egan

I was first introduced to Jennifer Egan's work via A Visit from the Goon Squad, which my husband read and recommended. Rightfully so. Now only did Goon Squad win the Pulitzer, it was my gateway drug to Egan's fabulous writing which focuses not on plot, but on the motivations of characters.

Look at Me centers on a young model who after a car accident must have her face (and thus her identity both inside and out) reconstructed.  Like all Egan books, though, you are introduced to a number of characters who are all struggling with who they are and how they are shaped by their experiences and  the people who surround them.

That sort of synopsis alone would not typically draw me to any book. It sounds too mystical for my liking. But this is a stunning look at how we are all made into the people we are. By following a host of very different characters in academic, fashion, and journalistic arenas we can't help but look to our own life and say, look at me.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

                                                           

Ah, this book.  This book left me breathless. It drew on Welsh mythology involving flesh-eating horses that would rise out of the sea. One girl and one man (who made me think of Man from Snowy River...) who both, for their own reasons, decide to ride one of these wild beasts in the Scorpio Races. It is no surprise that this book won the Printz Award.


I had previously read Shiver and Linger by Stiefvater, which pale in comparison to this stunner.  (I guess Shiver is being made into a movie, as will Scorpio Races eventually). But, movies aside!

                                             


The Scorpio Races was recommended to me as a "if you like Hunger Games try this out" book. When I went into it, I was expecting another 'games' type scenario. Not at all, and yet the female protagonist, Puck, held a similarilty to Katniss in her determined spirit. This is not a book for just girls. I would hand this to anyone and say, "Read!"

  (ht Allie at Hyberbole and a half for her awesome art)

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

 Like so many books that end up in my library bag, I picked this one because I liked the basic idea put forth in this book: what would happen if a test could reveal what you would do in the future? And what if everyone knew the results? Sounds interesting, right? This was a quick read, with fairly predictable characters which I wouldn't have minded so much if I felt this had more....something. In my writer's mind, I could see this having so many layers of interest, but it stayed pretty flat for me throughout.  Still, with it's subtle "who did it" theme, it kept me entertained.

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

Most recently I finished The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.  In some ways it reminded me of Charles Frazier's writing (author of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons, both recommended reads...even if you already saw the Cold Mountain movie...books are always better! Ahem.)  My husband loves books where it shows what it means to be a man, dealing with struggle and pain and loss. This book is one I intend to have him read for those reasons, but also because the main character, Talmadge, has a quietness about him that made his simple life choices in the face of turmoil all the more poignant. 

Here is the synopsis from Amazon: 

"At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest, a reclusive orchardist, William Talmadge, tends to apples and apricots as if they were loved ones. A gentle man, he's found solace in the sweetness of the fruit he grows and the quiet, beating heart of the land he cultivates. One day, two teenage girls appear and steal his fruit from the market; they later return to the outskirts of his orchard to see the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, the girls take up on Talmadge's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Just as the girls begin to trust him, men arrive in the orchard with guns, and the shattering tragedy that follows will set Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect but also to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past."