One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is actually a book written for adolescents. It was a Newbery Medal Honor Book and a National Book Award finalist for best children's book. It is about three African-American sisters who leave their home in Brooklyn where they live with their father and grandmother to spend the summer of 1968 in Oakland with their mother who left them just after the birth of the youngest. The mother is a poet and a supporter of the Black Panther movement. She leads a very independent life and sends the girls to the summer day camp operated by that group. The girls try to understand their mother's distance, make new friends, spend a day exploring San Francisco, and learn to appreciate their Black heritage. Best of all, though, they can be hilarious! By the end of the book you will feel that you know and love them, and you will hate to let go of them yourselves. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Thursday, July 23, 2020--San Antonio
Exhalation by Ted Chiang took me longer to complete than most novels because I became bored so often. Even though it has been highly recognized with very positive reviews, there were times when I almost quit reading it. It is a selection of science fiction short stories. When there are characters related to the science fiction concepts, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. But the author spends so many pages providing a theoretical background for justifying the science fiction concepts that at least 1/3 of this book just seemed like he was trying to prove how wonderful his mind is at coming up with his ideas vs. trying to entertain the reader. Those boring parts aren't worth more than a rating of 2 out of 5 stars, but because the parts with the characters in them were so interesting and enjoyable, I will rate the book overall as 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang took me longer to complete than most novels because I became bored so often. Even though it has been highly recognized with very positive reviews, there were times when I almost quit reading it. It is a selection of science fiction short stories. When there are characters related to the science fiction concepts, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. But the author spends so many pages providing a theoretical background for justifying the science fiction concepts that at least 1/3 of this book just seemed like he was trying to prove how wonderful his mind is at coming up with his ideas vs. trying to entertain the reader. Those boring parts aren't worth more than a rating of 2 out of 5 stars, but because the parts with the characters in them were so interesting and enjoyable, I will rate the book overall as 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Lot by Bryan Washington
Saturday, July 11, 2020--San Antonio
Lot by Bryan Washington was named by TIME and one of the top short books (fewer than 300 pages) of 2019. It really is a set of short stories about immigrants, but there are two characters who show up in several of them (although never in the same story together). It is set in Houston, and anyone who knows Houston well will recognize the streets and neighborhoods mentioned. It is well written and the stories are easy and enjoyable to read. I gave the book 4 stars out of 5.
Lot by Bryan Washington was named by TIME and one of the top short books (fewer than 300 pages) of 2019. It really is a set of short stories about immigrants, but there are two characters who show up in several of them (although never in the same story together). It is set in Houston, and anyone who knows Houston well will recognize the streets and neighborhoods mentioned. It is well written and the stories are easy and enjoyable to read. I gave the book 4 stars out of 5.
Friday, July 3, 2020
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
Friday, July 3, 2020--San Antonio, TX
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe got an A- from Entertainment Weekly and a good review in TIME. I enjoyed the book, but I just didn't have the feeling that it was worth such high praise. It deals with a number of contemporary topics--alcoholism, teenage homelessness, high school bullying, corporate corruption, ineffective criminal justice system--pulling them together in one story about a young woman and a gay young man who are neighbors without close friends. The title could have been better than it is; it is a direct reference to something mentioned only in the last few pages, although it is an indirect reference to one of the major turn of events toward the middle of the story. Some parts of the story went too fast, and some parts weren't justified very well. Because I enjoyed reading it without becoming too excited about it, I give it 3 stars out of 5 (at least 1 1/2 stars less than most other readers).
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe got an A- from Entertainment Weekly and a good review in TIME. I enjoyed the book, but I just didn't have the feeling that it was worth such high praise. It deals with a number of contemporary topics--alcoholism, teenage homelessness, high school bullying, corporate corruption, ineffective criminal justice system--pulling them together in one story about a young woman and a gay young man who are neighbors without close friends. The title could have been better than it is; it is a direct reference to something mentioned only in the last few pages, although it is an indirect reference to one of the major turn of events toward the middle of the story. Some parts of the story went too fast, and some parts weren't justified very well. Because I enjoyed reading it without becoming too excited about it, I give it 3 stars out of 5 (at least 1 1/2 stars less than most other readers).
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