A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

Having just finished a pretty heavy classic, I decided to find a quick, fun read.  Someone gave me a stack of Newbery Award books a while back, and since I remembered loving A Year Down Yonder by the same author, I chose this one.  Turns out that A Long Way from Chicago is the prequel to A Year Down Yonder, and it's every bit as entertaining.

With chapter headings such as, "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground," and "A One-Woman Crime Wave," you know you're not in for your run-of-the-mill coming-of-age novel.  Told from the perspective of a young boy, it chronicles the summer visits of Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, as they visit their eccentric, cranky, and very large grandma in her small town.  In each chapter, you get to watch the children grow up, but you also learn just a snippet more about Grandma. After each adventure you fall a bit more in love with her--her faults as well as her good qualities.

I would totally recommend these books for kids age nine or ten and up--real gems!

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

It isn't every day that I am completely engrossed in a book.  I do my reading in snippets--a bit at the gym in the morning, some with my book propped up by a salt shaker while I eat lunch, etc.  Every once in a while I come across something I can't put down or read in bits and pieces.  With Harry Potter, I believe this was because the magical world J.K. Rowling created was so new and fascinating.  I can't think of anything since Harry Potter that has been so utterly gripping as The Hunger Games.


I was afraid to read these books--there is a lot of hype about them, and I have heard countless people tell me what they probably told you too: "The first one is great, the second is good too, but it doesn't end how you want it to . . . "  I have also been warned against the violence in the books.  And with good reason--these aren't stories for the faint of heart!


That said, I want to tell you why you should at least consider The Hunger Games series, if you haven't already read them like half of the reading world.


1. It's original. I mean, there are a lot of dystopian books out there, but none with such a believable, fascinating (albeit horrifying) premise.


2. The characters are believable.  No offense to the Twilight series, but Katniss is no Bella . . . I found myself really rooting for the main characters.

3. Yes, there was violence, but it wasn't the mindless killing I expected it to be. Katniss, the main character, regrets her part in any killing, and she makes a point of disagreeing with the entire Hunger Games. (I'm just assuming everyone knows the basic storyline here)

4. There was no mushy, inappropriate romance junk. I still wouldn't let anyone younger than 15-16 read it, just for the sake of the disturbing premise, but it was much more appropriate than the Twilight Books.  Ok, I'm afraid I'm going to get on my soapbox here for a minute . . .

Soapbox:  I am incredibly concerned about the youth of this decade being exposed to far too much intimacy through books like Twilight and the rest of that series.  They are so not appropriate for kids who are younger than . . . thirty, maybe?  Mostly the last one--far too much information about sexual matters.  And although they are written by a member of the same church I belong to, and even though the main characters are married--for heaven's sake, do we really need to know every private detail?  I believe books of this nature are porn in the form most tantalizing to young women.  Girls don't go around looking for pornography pictures; Satan knows he can snag women (young and old) through books and movies like Twilight.  I confess, I did read the series and watched the movies--the storyline is very interesting, but there is a real danger there you need to be aware of for young women.  Please be very careful with your young girls! Ok, I'm through.

5. Suzanne Collins can really write.  I think sometimes authors get in the way of their story--they write in an awkward way that never lets you forget you're reading a book.  In contrast, each one of these books draws you right in, and you're living the story with Katniss.  The first person voice isn't distracting at all, like others written in this style, and you forget you're reading.

6.  It provides very interesting food for discussion--is it possible for the world as we know it to become like Panem, this futuristic world?  What would you do if you were forced to join the Hunger Games?  Is war ever right?  You could have a great discussion with your kids about what type of government is really the best, as well as how the gospel of Jesus Christ can solve every social problem in the world.  I have heard the complaint that it doesn't teach a great moral lesson, but I beg to differ.

Now, about the individual books themselves: The Hunger Games could stand alone, if it weren't for the cliffhanger-ish ending.  It is powerful in and of itself, fascinating, and really well done.  Catching Fire is much the same, butI know people who have decided not to read Mockingjay because it's gotten a bad rap.  I submit that it is every bit as good as the other two books; while things don't end "happily ever after," the way Collins finishes it is absolutely brilliant, and she leaves you with a lot to mull over.

I have yet to see the movie, but I am very excited to give it a try.  I have heard good things.  So give the books a try if you are brave enough, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

It is Charles Dicken's 200th birthday today.  I get a lump in my throat just thinking about the impact this man has had on my life and the lives of millions of others over the past two centuries.  No writer has done more (Shakespeare excepted, perhaps) to influence everything from the way our novels are written to how we celebrate Christmas.  And no book, aside from the Book of Mormon, thrills my whole soul like a good Dickens novel.  I remember summer library trips in my youth, where I would bee-line straight to the "D" aisle of our library.  There I would touch the spines of those beautiful old Dickens books, deciding which one to immerse myself in next.

Great Expectations was my initiation into the rich parlance of Charles Dickens.  I remember reading it just after Jane Eyre and liking it, although I'm sure I didn't understand half of it.  It has everything--mystery, humor, a dash of romance--but I believe the most important theme of the book is the impact our choices have on us.

I especially enjoyed reading it with Lydia.  She surprised me one day by looking through the bookshelves in my room (my room is my sanctum sanctorum--it houses my Victorian novels, Harry Potter, and all the Barnes & Noble Classics I've accumulated) and stating her intention to read a Dickens.  "Don't get too excited, Mom," she stipulated, "or I probably won't do it."  (I made that mistake with Anne of Green Gables, and I fear she'll never give those gems a try . . . *sigh*)  She raced ahead of me--she can read like the wind, and she comprehends everything.  I was overjoyed to hear her laugh out loud at Mr. Wopsle & Mr. Pumblechook--she got it!  She discovered Dickens's masterful humor!  I felt like she'd finally joined my personal Dickens Fan Club.  Here are her thoughts--if nothing else, she's honest!


I liked Great Expectations.  The ending was different from the way I expected, but it was good overall.  There were some pretty interesting characters.  Wemmick was one of my favorites because of his funny double-life.  It taught a good lesson about thinking about what you choose, because Pip made lots of decisions, but not all of them were good.  He was kind of hasty at making choices.


I think Charles Dickens is a great author.  Great Expectations wasn't my style, but I think that's because I am a younger girl.  The older you are, the closer you are to that time period, so I'd suggest it to older people.


Yes, thank you, Lydia.  And if you're an "older person," as I obviously am, and closer in years to the 1800's, the story of Great Expectations is probably familiar to you, with its themes of crime, broken promises, and ambition.  I have to agree with Lyd--Pip has never been my favorite character (he seems so weak!), but his choices made for some of the best discussions we have ever shared about books.  I mean, haven't we all let someone down?  Haven't we all wanted to be popular, neglecting loved ones and dear friends in the process?  I'm glad we now have this great classic to fall back on as Lyd nears the teenage years--I can refer to Pip for examples of what not to do.  And there are so many redeeming characters--Joe, Biddy, Herbert, Wemmick--who somehow help make Pip become the man he should be.  We treasure the Biddies and Joes in our lives, don't we?

Dickens is beloved to me for another reason--he offers mutual ground for Seth and I.  While Seth barely tolerates my Jane Austen "chick flick-ish" movies, he hasn't met a Dickens movie he didn't like--or at least one that didn't keep him intrigued.  He actually grew up on this version of Great Expectations, thanks to my wonderful Mother-in-Law, Elaine:

It's fantastic (although I always had issues with Estella seeming so much older than Pip), produced by Disney, and starring the great Anthony Hopkins as Magwitch.  Point of interest:  Miss Havisham is Jean Simmons, who plays Estella in the 1946 version.

I haven't been too interested in any other version, especially the risque 1998 version (Dickens must have rolled over in his grave)--however, the BBC has made a new one (2011) that looks very intriguing.  I love what Gillian Anderson, the new Miss Havisham, has to say about her role in the film, as well as the book itself:

"I can imagine that journey [reading Great Expectations] as a young kid, especially a young boy, must be unbelievably exciting.

"It was the journey pre-Harry Potter. Of course it was longer ago, but I can imagine young people having the same kind of magical response to Great Expectations that we did when Harry Potter books first started to come out.

"That's if it does get introduced at an early age, in school or through a parent or whatever and the child is able to crack the density of it." http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2011/12/great-expectations-gillian-anderson.shtml

I may shy away from the even newer version (2012) with Helena Bonham Carter, bless her creepy heart, as Miss Havisham.  We'll have to see.

Seth marvels that I can enjoy new versions of shows I have seen so many times before, but I'd like to think Dickens would be proud that his stories are so timeless.  So go ahead--celebrate his birthday with a wonderful book or movie, and I guarantee you'll thank me.

Book review of The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

I like to read to my kids during lunch--it seems to be a good time because their mouths are full of food, their hands are busy, and they're all sitting at the counter facing me.  It's hard to get them to sit still otherwise . . . This book was one we read together over the summer, just because I happened to have it on my bookshelf. I can't think where I got it--probably from my good mother, who first introduced me to Pearl S. Buck.  I highly recommend almost all of her books--I went through a Pearl S. Buck phase in high school and read everything our library had to offer.

This book is shorter than her others and written for younger readers.  It tells the simple story of two boys whose lives are influenced by the ocean, particularly by a "big wave," or tsunami, as we know it.  It seems like there are natural disasters all over the place nowadays (the last days are truly upon us, aren't they?), and reading this provided a good backdrop for us to discuss why Heavenly Father allows natural disasters to happen, why people die, and what happens to them when they die.  They really identified with the boys in the story, and I think that's due to Pearl Buck's writing style.  We're reading her book The Story Bible now, and it's really making the Bible stories come alive--I will keep you posted on that one!

Book Review of Watership Down by Richard Adams

If we were to tell you that this book is about a bunch of rabbits trying to find a new home, would you be very interested?  Probably not.  Yes, it is about a bunch (or to be technically correct, a warren, nest, colony, bevy, bury, drove, or trace) of rabbits; however, it is much more than that.  Driven out of their home by humans, Hazel, Fiver, and several other rabbits embark on a journey to find a new warren.  It is not so much like Charlotte's Web as it is like The Lord of the Rings--it is very interesting and exciting.  The rabbits have such distinct personalities, and their adventures are quite realistic.  While the end does get a little bit slow for a minute, don't give up--it picks up, and it's worth your time.  Both Lydia and Jessica highly recommend it--probably best for those age 10 & up.

Little House on the Prarie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is a great series of books about Laura Ingalls Wilder. It talks about her life--how she lives in the prairie, a dugout and in lots of other homes.

My favorite book in this series is: On the banks of Plum Creek.


Jessica:  I grew up on these books and loved the pictures and stories.  As a mother, I thoroughly enjoy reading this series to my children.  I think it is so good for them to realize that life wasn't always as easy and convenient as it is now.  Plus the real-life situations the Ingalls family dealt with has helped spark discussion with my own children about how to deal with their problems.  A perfectly beautiful series!