Austenland, Striped Pajames, Guernsey Literary

So I picked up Austenland by Shannon Hale with low expectations, having heard from my friend Mariann that it was a disappointment.

I hate it when my low expectations are met.

Hale can write. She has great characters, and she can do a great plot.

But she didn't.

Austenland started fine and then crashed in flames. Ashes were all that were left at the end.

Here's a list of just some of the problems with this book: too many make-out scenes. I skip these anyway (my husband is more fun to kiss than reading about someone else kissing their paramour), but there were a lot. The themes are good: what's real and what's illusion in the game of love, but there's no development. And the last scene when Jane leaves WITH a man was unnecessary. The point of the whole book was that she could learn to be a whole person by herself, in reality. So it would've been better had she left---whole---to find another whole person. Together they might've had a chance. But the Mr. Nobley shows up at the airport at the end thing---pointless. Mariann pointed out it would've been better had she found someone on the plane. At least he would've been a whole, real man who wore jeans instead of breeches.

So four thumbs down for Austenland, which is the two thumbs I have, and two more thumbs because Hale can do better than this.

But. The Boy in the Stried Pajamas by John Boyne was fabulous. Really honestly fabulous. Subtle. Powerful. Shook the plate techonics of my mind. It's about a nine year old boy and his experiences being the son of a Commandant of a concentration camp in WWII Poland.

And it's just plain good. So different from say, Elie Wiesel's Night, which I taught my 8th grade English class. My problem with Night was that it was so shocking and graphic. Something to read alone, painfully, but not something that I wanted to journey with 8th graders. But Striped Pajamas I would teach. All the meaning, all the power, all the message, all the atrocity, but gently.

Yes, Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Boyne is one of the best authors I've ever read, ever, who can speak in another person's point of view and make it authentic. I can't say enough good about this book. It should be required reading for everyone. (Wouldn't that be a concept---a Universal Required Reading List---Want your driver's license? Want to buy groceries? Not yet, you haven't done your reading.

But I digress.)

I also loved, loved, loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society by Shaffer and Barrows. It's been a while since I've been so charmed by a book. Completely and utterly mesmerized and charmed. I didn't read it---I inhaled it. S and B are fantastic writers and they are masters of character. Takes place in WWII London and thereabouts. Deals with the war, yes, but that's the backdrop. It's really about life and laughter and friendship and love. Go read it and then come talk to me about it. Or we can go play Dead Bride (That's from the book. If you don't read the book, you'll have to play Dead Bride with Charlie Ravioli.)

My only problem with Guernsey is that it ended.

I wish there were a sequel.

Shannon Hale, Red Scarf Girl, Daughter of Destiny

I didn't jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon until Book two (or three?) had already come out. I'd heard the hype and finally read one. And I was thrilled there were more in the series and they'd already been published! No waiting! Yes!  

This is how I'm feeling about my latest authorial discovery: Shannon Hale. Grand, grand, grand. YA writer and good at what she does. I wasn't too impressed with her first book, Princess Academy, even though it was a Newberry Honor book (what do they know?). But I adore her Bayern series. Goose Girl was great, River Secrets was fantastic, and I expect great things for Enna Burning and any other Bayern books. Hale also wrote Austenland for adults, and that's on my list.

So thumbs up for Shannon Hale. She writes for that hard-to-write-for tween audience. Old enough to cognitively understand "grown-up" writing, but too young for adult themes. I lean conservatively as to what I think it appropriate for tweens, and Hale does just fine. When I have a daughter, I'll buy her everything that Hale has written. I think my sons will like her work as well. And she is great for adults who want a good novel. (Anjanette and Liz, try this one. Start with Goose Girl. Then let me know what you think.) 

Thumbs down, on the other hand, for Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang. I was expecting great things from this book because it's one of the novels taught at a sister school in my previous school district. The English teachers there love it. Personal narrative about a young girl experiencing the cultural revolution of Mao Tse Tung in China. Fascinating topic. Good characters. 

But poor writing. Bland:

"Shut up," she said. 

Thank you very much. BOOORRRRING. 

Sad, because it had great plot potential. Fell flat. I think it would be fine taught in a history class, but as literature . . . no way. Just didn't have it. 

But speaking of historical narratives---I've also been perusing Benazir Bhutto's Daughter of Destiny. Bhutto was the first female prime minister in Pakistan and was assassinated in 2007. I know so little about Pakistan, but this is a compelling read. I have been skimming it, but I need to just settle down and read it from the start. She's a good writer. I like it. I'd recommend it. 

The Wednesday Wars

I just finished The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.

It's great. I laughed and laughed during the book and cried at the end. Not that an emotional response is the best way to judge a book, but this one I enjoyed.

Schmidt is a good writer to start with, but when he writes about something that I know---7th grade English class, for instance, it's a winning combination of reader and author.

The plot is, basically, a student spends Wednesday afternoons with his 7th grade English teacher while the rest of his classmates attend out-of-school religious instruction. And the teacher (can you imagine) uses the time to teach him Shakespeare.

But the book really is a classic coming-of-age novel. Usually these bore me (think Julie of the Wolves) just a little, but this one is choice. And Schmidt can really tell a story and come up with a good plot.

I was destined to love this book. It starts slow, but it doesn't take long to pick up speed. I read it in two days. Two thumbs up.