Mexican WhiteBoy - Review

Title: Mexican WhiteBoy

Author: Matt de la Peña

Release Date: August 12, 2008

Format/Page Count: Kindle/258 Pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Purchased: Amazon

NOTE: This author was brought to my attention through BOOKALICIOUS.ORG

Pam posted about Matt's books being removed from the curriculum in Arizona...and she challenged other readers to read Mexican WhiteBoy along with her in April. I took her up on the challenge. (-:

Synopsis:

DANNY’S TALL AND skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. A 95 mph fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it.

But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. And that’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he might just have to face the demons he refuses to see right in front of his face. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: This book sounded interesting, of course. But I didn't have any real expectation. I just thought it was pathetic that it would be removed from a curriculum. I wanted to support the author and send a message to the idiots who 'banned' his books. But I didn't really know enough about it to have any real sense of expectation.

REVIEW:

Before I start in on my gushing for this novel, I wanted to begin by saying that the story TOTALLY snuck up on me. As I was reading about a hitting competition in the beginning of the book, I had no idea how deep the story would go. Initially it was an interesting read, yes...but it suddenly became so much more than I first imagined it would be. It blossomed into such a great coming of age story...filled with wisdom and memorable characters.

Danny moves to National City to spend the summer with his father's family. Danny felt like an outsider at the preppy private school he attended, because he is half-Mexican, but coming to National City, he feels like an outsider because he is half-white. He doesn't speak a word of Spanish. He loves his father's family...almost irrationally. He wants so much to be like them...to be Mexican like them.

Upon Danny's arrival to the neighbourhood, he takes part in a batting competition after being prodded by his cousin Sofia. Sofia is feisty and fiery and she loves her cousin. She protects him in the neighbourhood...sticks up for him when kids ask why Danny doesn't talk.

When Danny shows prowess with a baseball bat, Uno, one of the neighbourhood boys, has a problem with him. Uno doesn't like the competition. He clearly feels threatened, so he pitches Danny a bad ball. Danny struggles to get a piece of the errant pitch and accidentally sends his bat through the air...right into Uno's developmentally handicapped brother's face. Uno's reaction is to break Danny's face open with his fist. This causes Danny to slam his head into the ground.

This is not a great start to Uno and Danny's relationship.

The great surprise I discovered as I continued to read is that these two boys become best friends. The turn in their relationship begins at a local fair, when some of the boys take turns at a pitching cage equipped with a speed gun to measure the speed of a thrower's pitch. Uno's quick switch from bitter jealousy and dislike to admiration of Danny's gift is absolutely transformative.

From this point on in the story, I was delighted by the way the two boys grew their friendship. It was great to see Uno teach Danny to reign in his wild pitches, and to watch the two grow together and take on each other's better qualities. Uno turns out to be the best coach (both life-coach and pitching-coach) that Danny has ever had. And Danny blossoms under Uno's tutelage. His thoughtful inward personality actually seems to wear off on Uno over the course of the novel. It's just a great relationship to witness...well worth reading Mexican WhiteBoy for.

There are some great moments in this book...from the hustling scenes Uno and Danny participate in, to the parties the close-knit group of teens have, to the quiet moments Uno and Danny share at the train tracks.

There is also a LOT of darkness in this story. To begin with, Danny's father is GONE. Just gone. He doesn't know why, but the truth comes out along the way...and it is a truth that initially crushes Danny. It's his passionate cousin, Sofia, who helps him through the difficulty he experiences with this plot-line. Sofia and Uno, who seems wise beyond his years...and is so much more than the bully we thought he was at the beginning of the story.

I won't get into everything that goes on in this story...because it is so worth picking up. I don't want to spoil any more of the surprises that happen along the way. Just go get this book! You won't regret it. But here's a hint...GIVE IT TIME. If you're anything like me, you'll be quietly reading along and suddenly think, 'heh...this is good. This is real good.' It's the first book that snuck up on me in a long time. It starts out quiet, but the ride picks up until you realize you're absolutely 100% hooked in.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone. Matt de la Peña does an amazing job playing with the reader's expectations. Quiet shifts in his characters become explosions on the page. Once you start reading Mexican WhiteBoy, you will fall in love with these strong characters and delight over the way they play off one another.

SIZE: 5

EXPECTATION: Ha! Even after the first few pages, my expectation wasn't that extreme. And then the shifts began and my love for the story grew and grew. I want to thank Pam from Bookalicious for turning me on to this author. I will be picking up more of his books! It's safe to say my expectations were blown out of the water.

AND Special Message to Arizona, who removed Matt's books from their curriculum: SHUT UP! This is a brilliant relationship book...a great book about friendship. I can't see anything inappropriate with it. It's been called anti-white...just ridiculous. It sounds like another case of book banning by people who didn't bother opening the book and reading it.

 

Gone, Gone, Gone - Review

Title: Gone, Gone, Gone

Author: Hannah Moskowitz

Release Date: April 17, 2012

Format/Page Count: Kindle/288 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Purchased: Amazon


Synopsis:
 

In the wake of the post-9/11 sniper shootings, fragile love finds a stronghold in this intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer.

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig’s crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he’ll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

This intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer is a poignant look at what it is to feel needed, connected, and alive. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: I am a SOLID Moskowitz fan. Hannah is one of my favourite (not so) new authors. I have yet to be disappointed by her works. In fact, I absolutely adore every Hannah Moskowitz book on the market. My expectation for this book was TOO HIGH.


Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review: 

Favourite Moments: 

'If I could take all the machine guns in the world and bend them into hearts, I totally totally would, even if I got grazed by bullets in the process, which knowing me I probably would, because I'm a little bit of a klutz, but Lio thinks I'm cute.'

'I love you, you fucking idiot, and I love you crazy and I love you sane, so will you please answer my emails?'


'One woman is not very many. Nine dead people, total, is not very many. But my stomach hurts so hard.'


'Something about the fact that he asked me if I was in New York, and I'm not in New York, and then he says he misses me even though I'm here, I'm just not here with him...I think I understand for the first time what it means to be in a relationship.'

From the moment I first read BREAK by Hannah Moskowitz, I knew I would read each consecutive novel she ever releases. Gone, Gone, Gone (from this point on referred to as GGG) is my 4th Moskowitz read (Break, Invincible Summer & Zombie Tag being her first three novels). As usual, I was NOT disappointed! Moskowitz continues to pepper her wonderfully real YA and MG novels with poignant heart-achingly awesome life. She is a master at instilling her readers with an emotional attachment to the worlds of her characters. An absolute master.

One of the things I love about GGG is the dual first-person narration. This is something that--as an author--I have used twice myself. Something about the dual first-person viewpoint really gives the reader such great insights into a story. With GGG the two main characters, Craig and Lio, take turns narrating chapters. Moskowitz carries out this back and forth narration flawlessly. One never forgets which of the two characters are narrating, as each are wonderfully unique.



GGG opens with Craig discovering that not only was his house broken into, but his menagerie of house pets have all escaped through the broken windows. Through this discovery, the reader begins to sense a slight brokenness in Craig...an endearing brokenness. We are also introduced to Todd, Craig's older brother. What would a Moskowitz novel be without an extraordinary brother/brother relationship! I still don't know how she does it. The reader gets a quick picture of this relationship in the way that Todd checks up on Craig, shows concern for him. There's this wonderful line in the first chapter that really captures something of their relationship. 'Todd has this way of being affectionate that I see but usually don't feel.'


The reader is also made aware in the opening chapter that 9/11 plays a prominent role in the story-line. The denizens of GGG are all on edge from the freshness of the terrorist attacks. Lio is from New York, newly settled in Maryland. While he deals with the memories of New York's version of 9/11 events, Craig struggles with the D.C. area's version--which included the death of his ex-boyfriend's father in the Pentagon. The story begins only 13 months after the towers fell. The raw nerves the characters display get re-electrified with a new fear as the DC sniper shootings begin.

To quickly describe the plot of GGG, it opens with an animal hoarding Craig. Apparently he is replacing his boyfriend (and his social life) with a menagerie of fury friends. He acts as something of a Welcome Wagon spokesperson for his school. He is assigned Lio, who is transferring to his school from New York. Their relationship begins in IM, but quickly develops from there. Lio is a boy who can possibly be fixed, unlike Craig's messed up institutionalized boyfriend Cody...who never recovered from his father's 9/11 death. Lio lived through cancer and had a twin brother who did not make it through his own cancer ordeal. Lio is as messed up as his multi-coloured hair. Something about him re-ignites Craig's life. Just as something about Craig re-ignites Lio's desire to speak, to engage in life.


"His tragic flaw is that he is a walking tragedy, and his smile makes me feel alive." ~ Craig, describing Lio.

As the two form a relationship, they struggle to live in a world gone mad with the random shooting spree of the Beltway Sniper. As everyone around them ducks and weaves to avoid being shot at, they slowly come together amid the chaos. Still dealing with the emotional fallout of 9/11, the two go about their lives trying not to become victims of the sniper. All the while, they are trying to reassemble Craig's gone, gone, gone menagerie. There are some wonderful moments in the story where the boys put everything down to mathematics---the odds of becoming a sniper victim, the differences in the number of tragic deaths in New York as compared to those in D.C.. We are made aware through character growth that the figures don't matter, that numbers don't matter. That each life lost is a life lost, come what may. There is something just achingly familiarly and melancholic in the insights we are given through the eyes of these two boys in love.

These two boys each have pasts to unravel and come to terms with. Doing so amid the re-collection of Craig's menagerie and the simultaneously unnerving sniper attacks makes for an exciting pace that will engage the reader non-stop. I read this novel in just over a day. Not unlike Moskowitz's other books, I just couldn't put it down. She writes with a rawness that makes the reader right at home inside both the tragedies and the joys of her stories. I highly recommend Gone, Gone, Gone. If you are not yet a Moskowitz fan, if you have yet to stumble upon her fiction, this book will bring you in hook, line and sinker. Be prepared, though. You'll want to pick up the rest of her quickly growing catalogue of work.





SIZE:5 (1/2!)

Expectation: Forget about it. Blew my expectations out of the water. I will read cocktail napkins that Moskowitz scribbles on. Hannah Moskowitz is a RELEASE DAY AUTHOR. No two ways about it!

Muskoka Novel Marathon - Writers Helping Readers

I don't usually post anything but reviews on this site, but I'm going to make this one time exception. Every year in July I head to Huntsville, Ontario for the Muskoka Novel Marathon. This year is no exception. (-:

Myself and approximately 30 other writers spend 72 hours together--we each write a complete novel. And we each collect sponsors for the event. Together, we hope to raise $10,000 for Literacy. Please consider a small donation to help stamp out illiteracy. This is a huge opportunity for us writers--to have a full weekend with nothing else to do but write. But it's also an opportunity for us to give others the gift of reading. WIN/WIN.

Please consider helping us reach our goal. (-:

Muskoka Novel Marathon - Writers Helping Readers

Ashfall - Review

Title: Ashfall

Author: Mike Mullin

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition

Publisher: Tanglewood Press

Purchased: Amazon



Synopsis:
 

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: TWITTER strikes again! My expectation was huge for this book. Mostly because of all the Twitter talk about it. AND...it also sounded KIND of end-times/dystopian  meets contemporary. The idea of this book simply appealed to me.


Market/Genre: Young Adult

Review: 

“The pre-Friday world of school, cell phones, and refrigerators dissolved into this post-Friday world of ash, darkness, and hunger.”~ Mike Mullin, Ashfall


Think YOUNG ADULT 'THE STAND', only better.


Alex is a fifteen-year old boy. He's home alone when the world experiences a near apocalyptic catastrophe. When a Yellowstone National Park supervolcano erupts, Alex's world is turned completely upside down. As the volcano erupts within the first few pages of this story, Mullin has us sitting on the edge of our seats right away. And he never lets us go. This is one of the most action packed young adult novels I have ever read.

Alex's home was destroyed in the volcano's initial blast. Luckily, he made it out of the house. The couple across the street, Darren and Joe, help Alex during the first day or so, as the volcano continues to erupt and explode.

Once the world returns to quiet, Alex has one thing on his mind--make it to his parents and sister. Big problem--they are hours away by car. In this new world, there are no cars. A thick blanket of ash covers everything. Alex embarks on the journey of a lifetime into the new world of ash and catastrophe.

What Alex meets along his journey makes this one of the best young adult novels I have ever read. He comes upon good people and killers. It is up to him to determine which camp they each fall into. At a farmstead, he finds Darla and her mother. Darla is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. Taught by her father to be handy with tools, as well as problem solving and inventive, Darla brings a lot to the table. Not to mention, Alex's attraction to her.

As things heat up in this new post-apocalyptic world, stakes are raised. People change...become more survival oriented, more singular. After an incident on Darla's farm, she and Alex continue Alex's journey together. Along the way, they learn how to survive together in their new surroundings--and simultaneously lose their innocence and leave their childhoods behind.

I don't want to give anything away. Just know that terrible things happen and heroic things happen. You will love these two amazing main characters. Both are strong and independent. It was extremely refreshing to see just how strong Darla was--a great female role model, excellently written. As a reader, I was totally captivated by this story. It held me in its grip from first page to last. Take the journey across this new horrifying America with Alex. All you have to do is pick up the book and start reading. And, if you're a fan of The Stand, by Stephen King, you'll know what I mean when I say this is reminiscent of that book. But I found ASHFALL to be SO MUCH BETTER than The Stand. I loved loved loved this book!

SIZE:5 (1/2!)

Expectation was realized in spades. I really dug this book a lot and can't wait to read the next in the series. Look for ASHEN WINTER next. I seriously can't wait! I need these characters back in my life. What happens next!?