scrounge: /skrounj/ informal verb: to actively seek [books] from any available source
Inside Out and Back Again is probably one of my favorite "verse novels" that I've read so far (not that there have been a lot). I think that style worked well for this story, which seeks to simply convey the most immediate and condensed thoughts and experiences of a girl whose family leaves Vietnam right before the fall of Saigon.
This is a segment of history that can get overlooked, because most of the US history I've learned tends to end the story of Vietnam right after the US pulls out. But for Ha (our protagonist), there are a lot of changes experienced not only in Vietnam, but also on the boat and during her time of adjusting to the US in which her family lives in Alabama.
While this is technically fiction rather than memoir, it draws very heavily on the author's similar experiences, which I think really helps the story to feel real. From details of the cuisine and traditions of Vietnam, to the feelings and reactions to American culture, bullying, and the details and difficulties of learning English, Ha's story is compelling and realistic.
Scrounged From: PaperbackSwap.com
Format: Hardcover
Author: Thanhha Lai
Pages: 277
Content Advisory: Scenes of bullying, brief descriptions of war, and some descriptions of parental loss (nonviolent)
Even though "bullying" is a hot topic these days, sometimes I find that I still view it in a caricatured way. When I hear that a book is about bullying, I instantly picture a masculine "backpack in a tree" sort of thing. But as we know, bullying does not have to involve a swirlie or cartoonish, overt, physical humiliation -- it can be more subtle and persistent, and that's the type that's portrayed in The Hundred Dresses.
Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant, is teased for wearing the same dress every day. When she says she has a hundred dresses, she is teased even more. Later on, the girls find out she was telling the truth, just not in the way that they had expected. The story focuses on Maddie, one of the girls in Wanda's class. Although she is not the primary instigator, she still stands by while her friend teases Wanda, and it isn't until Wanda moves away that she starts to feel bad about her passivity. I appreciated this bit of realism because I'm sure many of us can attest that it isn't until we look back on a situation that we can often see much more clearly how we were in the wrong. Many things feel just fine when we're in the middle of them.
That's what I think this story does so well -- not just in portraying some instances of bullying and evoking pity for the person bullied, but also showing one character's gradual realization that what she did was wrong, even though it didn't feel overtly bad or cruel at the time. Because of this, Maddie vows to be more vigilant in her treatment of others and to never "stand by and say nothing" again. She recognizes that this is a choice she will have to make again, and becomes far more aware of how she will respond to that choice in future situations.
Scrounged From: HomeschoolClassifieds.com (Sonlight Core A)
Format: Paperback
Author: Eleanor Estes
Pages: 80
Content Advisory: Girls treat Wanda in a demeaning way.
Drawing on Chinese folk tales, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon begins with a girl named Minli and her parents working hard in the poor soil all day, with only a little bit of rice to show for it. The adventure takes off when Minli decides to leave Fruitless Mountain in hopes of finding a way to bring good fortune back to her valley.
The tale is told in a straightforward manner, and involves dragons, a magic book, an evil green tiger, and copious references to the moon and moonlight. I like how this story includes many other short stories told by different characters, to help fill in plot points.
While I enjoyed the fantastical elements, the story was slow going for me at times, but by the end I began to appreciate how the different characters and events were gradually woven together into one big story, and I really liked the way the ending came together, with an emphasis on patience, contentment, and familial love.
Scrounged From: PaperbackSwap.com
Format: Paperback
Author: Grace Lin
Pages: 282
Content Advisory: Very little violence, but one scene involves the dragon getting wounded.
Book Scrounger's note: The following is a guest review by Doug, a.k.a. Professor Puzzler.
So many books I read end up getting lost in the recesses of my mind, and if you asked me sixth months later what I had read, I wouldn't be able to tell you much about the book. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy will, I think, stay with me for a very long time. This is the story of a friendship between a preacher's son and a pauper black girl from a small island off the coast of Maine.
My wife found the book at Goodwill, and bought it because it takes place in our home state, and because it is a Newbery Honor book.
I started reading it and was hooked from the very first page. The main characters (Lizzie Bright and Hunter Buckminster III) are such believable characters, and I had a sense -- which I seldom get from fictional books -- that these were real, honest-to-goodness people. My perceptions were shaped, perhaps, by the fact that I'm from Maine, and know the places described in the book.
But it wasn't until I was several chapters in that I suddenly realized that this book was only partly fictional. It is the story of one of Maine's most shameful historic events. It is the story of Malaga Island, and the state's decision to remove the island's slave-descended and mixed-race residents and place them in a home for the feeble-minded, where they lived out the remainder of their tragic lives.
Here are some of the things that I loved about this book:
- The descriptions of the Maine coast, community, and church life.
- Believable character interactions and ever changing relationships.
- In keeping with #2, a recurring theme of forgiveness (not explicitly mentioned, but clearly evident).
- Characters who don't always do exactly what you expected them to.
- The depictions of human selfishness, along with selflessness and courage.
- The sprinkling of humorous moments and funny dialogue in the midst of a difficult story.
When I see "Newbery Honor," I automatically think, "book for kids," but this is a book for older kids. It has also won "young adult" awards. The story, being based around tragic historic events, is very dark at times, and as you can probably deduce from what I've said so far, does not have a happy ending.
But it is a powerful book, and it deserves a place in your reading list. There is much more I could say about the book, but I don't want to spoil too much of it for you, so I'll stop here.
I have a feeling this will be one of those rare books that I'll come back to someday and read for a second -- maybe even a third time.
Scrounged From: Our local Goodwill store
Format: Paperback
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Pages: 224
Content Advisory: Some violence, and depictions of white supremacist attitudes and actions.
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