Finished: The Death of Bees

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell

Nelly and Marnie have lost their parents just before Christmas. But they don't really miss them. Their parents were absent, neglectful and abusive. The next-door neighbor, Lennie, an older gay man with a shameful past befriends them and provides them a home--but how long can their thrown-together family last when Social Services, a man looking for his money and a long-absent grandfather search for the missing parents?

This book was a great read, though I wanted more. I enjoyed how each chapter was told from a different perspective with the oldest daughter, Marnie taking turns narrating with Lennie and Nelly. Each person understands the world differently from the others and their limited ability to see the full picture (which we as readers know) is heartbreaking sometimes.

O'Donnell has been a screenwriter and I think I'd love to see this book done up as a movie. It has that feeling--that it needs more visuals that a movie could provide.

The book explores family--the ideas that blood relations aren't necessarily the most important components of creating lasting bonds and that there are many different ways to love, hate and forgive.

Recommended.

Okay... I've been reading a LOT and not writing about it :(

Yep, I've been slacking. Or rather, I've been dithering. Or maybe I've been procrastinating.

I love to read (duh), but sometimes, I'm devouring books to escape and I'm not taking the time to reflect on them as I should--to describe what they mean to me, how they changed me, reinforced me, repelled me or just made me feel happy. 

But, in the interest of disclosure and hopeful revisiting of what I've been reading, here's the run-down:

Audiobooks

Aloha From Hell

Casual Vacancy

Good Omens

Young Adult

Nobody

Inside Out

Outside In

Scorpio Races

Fat Angie

NonFiction

Weird Life
Various Gardening Books

Fiction
The Death of Bees
The new Flavia de Luce book

I'll try to write how I felt about these stories at a later date... :P

Audiobook: The Fault in Our Stars

Okay.. this story about a girl with terminal cancer and a boy she meets who has lost his leg to cancer is, so far, simply hilarious. I'm enjoying Hazel's narration of her life and about the day she meets Augustus at a youth cancer support group so much that I actually laughed out loud in my car where I'm listening to the recording. The voice actress is simply excellent and the story is so good so far that I can't even begin to start with the awesomeness. I mean, I ordered awesome and got a side of awesome to go with it.

Can't wait to hear more! I'm currently on chapter 3. Get this audiobook now!

Booktalk: Wonder

** Note: I've also released this post for the El Paso Public Library to use for its blogs**

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a very interesting read—it zips along and you’ll find yourself rooting for all of the characters who have a voice in the book.  In Wonder, we meet August “Auggie” Pullman who was born with a very serious health issue and face deformity. When he’s 10, he goes to school for the first time and even attends a 3 day camp away from home with his class-mates. Auggie’s experiences are both familiar and unusual. Many people have been teased or treated as an outcast like Auggie is in the book, but Auggie’s problems are made even worse because of his facial deformity which is very serious.  He looks very different from other people and it takes some special kids to allow themselves to see past Auggie’s looks and become friends with him.

Auggie’s family is very interesting and we get to know them very well. In fact, many of the characters—even characters that seem minor—in the story are fully developed and we get to know them better through their own narration. Via’s part of the story fleshes out the experiences of siblings of children with special needs. Via is a great character: strong, but not perfect.

This book is an excellent read for all ages. The reader comes to understand a lot about how kids feel embarrassed being friends with someone who is different and how it feels to be bullied and singled out. I think the story will also especially appeal to kids that are reluctant to read. The chapters are very short and the characters are easy to identify with—many of us have felt the way they felt at one time or another!

After reading the story, which follows Auggie’s first year at Middle School, I really felt different. That’s the part of the story that is really a “wonder.” I felt like Auggie was real and the people who loved and supported him were real, too.  I also felt more hopeful about other people. The story really shows how we can all help make differences through small (and big) acts of kindness and bravery in our everyday lives.

Very much recommended!

What's Left of Me

**NOTE: I've released this writing for the El Paso Public Library to use in their blogs.**

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Because of the Hunger Games, Science Fiction, and especially books about Dystopias are very popular right now. Some of the new dystopian novels feel like “read-alikes.” They’re very similar to one another. But What’s Left of Me is so unique and so interesting that it’s certainly a “must read.”

What’s Left of Me takes place in an alternate universe. It’s the United States, but it’s not as we know it. The US was once at war with the rest of the world and now it is a very isolationist country with no contact with other countries. This is interesting, but it’s not the most interesting thing about What’s Left of Me. In this alternate world, you see, everyone is born with two souls.

It’s normal to be born with two souls, each of which is named separately and has their own personality. It’s expected that at around the age of five or so, however, that one personality will become dominant and the other will naturally fade away. This is called “settling” and those who settle are normal while those who do not are considered mentally ill and potentially dangerous. No one knows what happens to the other soul that disappears. It often feels in the story that while it’s considered normal to settle, it’s also very sad that it happens, too.

The main characters are Addie and Eva who share a body. Addie is the dominant soul and Eva was supposed to fade away—but she didn’t. The book is narrated by Eva who watches the world out of Addie’s eyes, conscious, alive, but unable to control anything in the world around her. Eva and Addie have convinced most of the world that Eva is gone. The two soul sisters talk to each other, share dreams, occasionally bicker and always help one another.

Addie and Eva’s secret is revealed by a schoolmate who has also secretly not settled. She has both of her personalities and so does her brother. They get Addie and Eva involved in helping Eva gain more control of their body and her future. As Eva grows stronger, both she and Addie are put into more and more danger.

While many aspects of What’s Left of Me may seem initially confusing, Zhang explains and describes the world in the book well enough that the reader can identify and understand everything. The struggle for identity and fighting the loss of self is a theme that we can all identify with. The characters are likeable and realistic.

This book is the first part in a series, but there isn’t a cliff-hanger at the end. If you’re looking for some new Sci-Fi with a distinctive twist, this book is for you. 

Check out the downloadable eBook at the El Paso Public Library.

Now Listening: Ghost Story -- Jim Butcher

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher is part of the Harry Dresden series.

If you haven't read any of the other Dresden books, then there are a lot of spoilers for you if you skip and read/listen to this one.

So far, I'm enjoying the audio production. I think Dresden's a character that you'll either love or hate. He's sarcastic, mouths- off to things that are bigger and scarier than him and he's one tough Wizard. A lot of backstory for Dresden gets filled in and I'm enjoying the details (since I've read allll the other books.)

Overall, it's not a bad way to spend my commute to work... it's a good escape. But really, don't pick it up if you haven't read the others: it won't make a lick of sense to you unless you know the characters already.

Currently reading: What's Left of Me

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

This story seems to be set in an alternate universe where people are born with two selves or personalities and at around five or so, one personality has become dominant and drives the other out. They call this "settling" and it's considered normal. However, Addie, the main character never settled... her second soul sister, Eva, is inside of them, watching, unable to move or speak except to Addie.

Addie and Eva work together to try to live a "normal" one-souled life. If anyone found out that they hadn't settled, they would be revealed as "hybrids" and taken away to a mental institution or worse. Addie and Eva's life is turned upside-down when they meet Hallie and her brother Devon. There's something unusual about the two of them, too...

What's Left of Me is a very interesting story that explores a lot of cool ideas. Many of the characters wonder what happens to the other soul that "goes away" when a person settles. Some of them miss the recessive soul. We learn about how America is a closed society in this alternate universe and the rest of the world live their lives as hybrids. Americans are horrified by these hybrids outside their borders and see a life lived split between souls as something terrifying and disruptive.

Addie and Eva embark on a scary journey... I'm about half-way through so far, but I'm enjoying it. The story is narrated by Eva, who the "recessive" soul. She can't control her and Addie's body on her own and she watches the world through Addie's eyes. Addie is the only person who can hear Eva's voice. They work together, Eva reminding Addie to remember things through the day or studying when Addie can't concentrate.

I'm looking forward to reading more!