Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

It is 1950 and Josie Moraine has been living on her own over Charles Marlowe's bookstore in the French Quarter of New Orleans since she was 12.  Now, she is 17, has graduated from high school and wants to go to college.  The only problem - she has no money and her mother is a brothel prostitute who has neglected her except when she was helping herself to everything Josie had ever gotten.

Despite its name,  life isn't easy in the Big Easy.  To being with, Josie mother has an abusive boyfriend, Cincinnati, who has just arrived back in town, which always means trouble.  So, when a wealthy Alabama businessman, Forest Hearne, suddenly dies after buying books from Josie and later being seen with her mother,  the police want to know about it.

Things don't look any better after Josie finds an expensive watch belonging to the dead man under her mother's bed at the brothel where Josie cleans every morning.  Worse still, Josie has kept the check Hearne had given her to pay for his books.  Forest Hearne had been so kind and treated her so nicely, she began thinking/pretending he was the father she didn't know, hoping that at least half of her came from someone good.  Now both watch and check are hidden under a floorboard in Josie's room and her mother and Cincinnati have just off to Hollywood.

But Josie has supporters - Patrick Marlowe, Charlie's son, is a real confidante and friend, with whom she works in the bookstore; Jesse Thierry, a high school friend who would like to be more than friends; Willie Woolley, the madam who owns the brothel Josie's mother works in and who does her best to keep Josie out of the family business; Cokie, Willie's chauffeur; and finally Charlotte, a new friend met at the bookstore who encourages Josie to apply to Smith College in Northampton, MA, far from the Quarter.

And Josie also has enemies - John Lockwood, Charlotte's uncle, a smarmy businessman who would love to be her first and drag Josie into becoming his personal courtesan; and Carlos Marcello, a gangster who shows no mercy to anyone who double crosses him and knows just how to leave no bodies.

After Forest Hearne's death turns out to be murder, and her mother and Cincinnati return to provide alibis for the night he died, no one is more surprised than Josie.  But that alibi comes with a price and when her mother skips town again, payback falls on Josie's shoulders and Carlos Marcello is demanding payment in one week's time.

What a complicated life Josie Moraine leads.  It almost makes your head spin and that means this book is unputdownable, right from the first sentence "My mother's a prostitute."  I had had misgivings about Out of the Easy because Sepetys's first novel, Between Shades of Gray, had been so well written that I was afraid everything after that would be a let down, but not so here.

Once again Sepetys has created first-rate, well-defined female characters.  The 1950s was not a time when women were told they could be whatever they wanted to be.  Rather, the message was to conform.  And even though Josie is a strong woman, who works hard to try to get what she wants, she has her faults.  Determined not to be like her mother, she nevertheless finds herself making some bad judgements, some poor decisions and spinning a web of lies that get easier and easier to tell until it looks almost like Josie might be forced to conform to her mother's fate.

Sepeteys's male characters don't feel as well defined but perhaps that is because the story is told in the first person by Josie and the reader only gets to see them from her point of view, which is always limiting.  We only know what Josie tells us about them and not what is going on inside their heads.  They are there basically to move her story along.

All in all, this is an excellent historical fiction novel, one that gives us an interesting picture of the underbelly of life in the Big Easy.  It doesn't pack the punch that Between Shades of Gray did, but I don't think it will be a disappointment.  It's just different, and not all stories are punch-packers.  And you might think the ending is a little too pat, I know I did, but then I felt guilty thinking maybe Josie deserved a break for once.  Then I remembered, life doesn't really do that and there is really no such thing as a pat ending.

Although some of Out of the Easy takes place in a brothel and there are a number of characters who are prostitutes, there is no real sex in this novel, just the implication of it.  And really, the language is quite mild, all things considered.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was how Sepetys has again managed to make place an integral character in the novel.  As Josie travels about the French Quarter, the reader gets a real sense of what it must have been like in 1950.  New Orleans is one of my favorite places and after Hurricane Katrina, I was really afraid it would disappear the way some people predicted it would.  But here, let Ruta Sepetys tell you all about it:

This book is recommended for readers age 13+

This book was borrowed from Webster Branch of the NYPL

Red Kite, Blue Kite by Ji-Ji Jiang, illustrated by Greg Ruth

Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres, especially when it is based on real events or people.  Lately, I have been reading a lot of historical fiction picture books and I have been loving them.  Not only do they introduce young children to important events or people in history, they add so much to older kids' understanding to what they may be learning/reviewing in school.  Picture, especially in the hands of a skillful illustrator, can provide a detailed visualization, in the same way a map helps us find our way.

Red Kite, Blue Kite is a picture book that begins just before takes the Cultural Revolution in China that occurred during the 1960s.  Tai Shan and his Baba (father) like to fly their kites from the rooftop of their home.  Tai Shan's kite is red, his father's is blue.  Kite flying is a special time for Tai Shan, because on the roof they feel free and Baba tells lots of stories.

"Then, a bad time comes."  Tai Shan's school is closed and he is sent to live with a farmer when his father is sent to a labor camp.  Granny Wang is good to Tai Shan, but he still dreams of being back home with his Baba and their kites.  But, at least, Baba can visit every Sunday, walking the long distance so they can be together and fly their kites.

One Sunday, Baba tells Tai Shan he will not be able to visit for a while.  He tells Tai Shan to fly his red kite every morning and Baba will answer this by flying his blue kite in the evening.  It will be their secret signal.

But one day, Baba tells Tai Shan he will not be able to fly his blue kite anymore.  He gives it to Tai Shan and tells him to fly both of them for him to see.  The men with the red armsbands are taking Baba to a difference labor camp because of his ideas.  Will Tai Shan ever see him Baba again?

Red Kite, Blue Kite is a book that can be read on two distinctly different levels.  First and foremost, it is a beautifully written story about the strong relationship and bond that exist between a father and his son, a bond so strong nothing can break it, not even separation.  It would be an excellent book for any child that has suffered and had to cope with separation from a parent for any reason.

The political aspects of the story are never really spelled out, since this is a story are told from Tai Shan's point of view, understood as a child would understand political events going on around them.  For example, the treatment of dissidents like Baba is not really spelled out, but it is there if it is wanted as a history/cultural lesson.

Complementing the text are Greg Ruth's realistically detailed watercolor illustrations.  Here, too, the political aspects of the story have been kept in the background by giving them a rather shadowy effect, while the more colorful elements of the illustrations, placed at the forefront, focus on Tai Shan and/or Baba:

I have to agree with what Pamela Paul wrote in her February 20, 2013 NY Times review of Red Kite, Blue Kite: [It] offers narratively strong, visually arresting and moving examples of why and how picture books can convey with immediacy and resonance the impact of profound historical events."  I couldn't have said this any better, and completely agree with it.

Just imagine the lesson plans you could come up with using historical fiction picture books.

This book is recommended for readers age 5+
This book was provided by the publisher

The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

Barnaby Brocket was born in Sydney, Australia to a very normal family and in fact, up to the moment of his birth, the Brockets prided themselves on just how normal they were.  But then Barnaby was born and first thing he did was float and their whole normal existence was turned upside down.  Because Barnaby didn't stop floating and pretty soon there were mattresses nailed to the ceilings so that Barnaby wouldn't hurt himself.

Now if his parents were ashamed of Barnaby, his older brother Henry and sister Melanie love him, accept him and think floating is just something he does and it is rather cool.  And the family dog, Captain W.E. Johns immediately attached himself to Barnaby.

As he grew, Barnaby's floating became a very stressful experience for the very normal Brocket parents and although he wore a backpack weighed down with sand to keep him grounded, they were still stressed.  Floating just went against the very nature of normal.

So when Barnaby was eight, his mother took him and the dog for a walk.  While sitting for a rest, Barnaby suddenly feels himself getting lighter and floating upwards - his mother, in agreement with his father, had made a whole in his backpack and sand was leaking out.

Yes, his mother let her 8 year old son float off into the atmosphere because he wasn't normal and it stressed her.  And so Barnaby continues to rise, not knowing what will happen to him.  After a while, he notices something in the distance.  It turns out to be a hot air balloon with two elderly ladies on board.  Ethel and Marjorie rescue Barnaby, and after he tells them his story, they tell theirs.  They each had parents who thought they were not normal, threw them out of their homes and refused any further communication.  The ladies have now been happily together for forty years.

Margorie and Ethel take Barnaby back to their coffee farm in Brazil, where he stays a week and hears about Vincente, another 8 year old boy the ladies had raised, and who now runs an art gallery in New York.  At the end of the week, they put Barnaby on a train that will take him to the airport, so he can fly back to Australia.  But Barnaby falls asleep and ends up in New York City.

As Barnaby floats his way around the world, he meets all kinds of people, most of them defying other people's definition of 'normal', most of them kind, friendly and accepting.  And of course there are those who reject them or those who take advantage of them.  All in all, Barnaby is on a journey that is an eye opening experience for everyone, except people who are normal (I place tongue in cheek as I write that).

Barnaby's adventures, if a little far-fetched at times. are nevertheless fun, but with a moral or a lesson or maybe just John Boyne proselytizing depending on how you feel about what his underlying message is.  Most people see that underlying message as a celebration or acceptance of difference.  But difference still implies other.  

I see the underlying message in The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket as a celebration acceptance - think Henry and Melanie, and Captain W.E. Johns, the dog.  They just accept Brnaby for who he is.

I have to behonest and say I didn't expect to like The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket, yet I ended up loving it.  It is fun, funny, poignant, and bears a level of truth that is scary.  It is not a story that should not be read too literally since sending an 8 year old child floating off into the world could be a frightening things to a young readers.  I think Boyne has counteracted this with his playful writing style and there are also the wonderfully whimsical cover and inside illustrations done by Oliver Jeffers completely compliment the tone of the story.

If you are a Roald Dahl fan, as I am, suspend your disbelief and float along with Barnaby.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from a friend.

A word about Captain W.E. Johns - I laughed out loud when I saw the name of Barnaby's always faithful companion.  Captain W.E. John was a pilot and a very prolific writer.  I know him because during World War II he wrote two series books I have read.  One was the Biggles stories about an RAF pilot and the other was the Worrals series about a woman RAF pilot.  Both Biggles and Worrals had lots of adventures, even beyond WW2.  They are a little dated as kids books go, but they are still fun to read.  I reviewed the first Worrals book, Worrals of the W.A.A.F a while ago on my other blog The Children's War and you can read the review here.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday is a weekly event hosted by Shannon Messenger at Books, Ramblings and Other Shenegans

The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone

Louise Terrance is a seventh grader in pain.  She has suffered the traumatic loss of her mother and she just can't own it the circumstances surrounding her death.  Instead, Louise has cut herself off from most of her friends, quit gymnastics and protects herself with a snarky attitude.  Since her mother's death, Louise has been living with her grandparents, two free spirits doing their best to try to help Louise with her problems.  But Louise won't be helped, by them or her best friend Reni, or even Henderson, Reni's brother.

On the very day that her grandmother sells her balance beam at a garage sale, Louise orders a pizza that comes with a note reading "I am your biggest fan."  As more notes arrive, Louise sets off on an obsessive journey to discover who this secret admirer is.  She and Reni decide that it must be Benny McCartney, the pizza guy, and eventually Louise obligingly fall in crush with him.  What better way to push back the pain of trauma and it works throughout most of seventh grade.  Well, that is until it doesn't.

And with no crush to blind her, Louise's defenses come tumbling down, forcing her to confront her demons.  Will the real secret admirer be able to help her through all this?  Or is he just too far away now?

I enjoyed reading Phoebe Stone's novel The Romeo and Juliet Code about a girl sent to live with some very eccentric relatives in Maine during World War II so much, that I was really looking forward to reading her newest book, The Boy on Cinnamon Street.  And I am sorry to say, I was a little disappointed with this coming of age novel.

It wasn't that the writing was bad, that was fine.  And the storyline offered so much potential.  But for some reason, I couldn't connect with Louise's pain.  It is a terrible thing to lose a parent, especially the way Louise lost her mother a year earlier.  One can understand her PTSD reaction - changing her name to Thumblina, quitting her beloved gymnastics team, and unconsciously wiping her mind clean of all memories of her mother.  And Louise's anger at her dad is also understandable.  After all, he had left Louise and her mom and remarried a woman with a daughter the same age as Louise and is now living in New York.  The mystery crush becomes a wonderfully simple way to again deflect the unbearable pain and anger she feels.  And yet, somehow Louise just wasn't a sympathetic character.

In the end, I found the characters all needed to be developed more as individuals and less as stereotypical ideas - there is Reni, the overweight best friend who has no boy friend prospects and crushes out just too much on safe, distant, never-can-break-your-heart Justin Bieber (there was way too much Justin Bieber in this book which will quickly date it).  And Reni's quirky, geeky brother who is almost always there at the right time for Louise even though he goes to a different school.  And of course, the distant father and his daughter replacement.  In a way, it felt to me like Louise's life was a combination of Carmen and Bridget's stories from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Does this book have no redeeming qualities, then?  Of course it does.  It is a book that will find it way into the hands of middle grade girls who will identity with and love Louise.  And her story does bear reading about.  It is a healing, hopeful story in the end and traumatic loss has become so much a part of our society these days, that a novel that addresses this issue is absolutely of value and certainly worth reading.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL

Happy St. David's Day

Bora da! (Good day!)

Today is St. David's Day.  St. David lived in the 5th century and is the patron saint of the Welsh and while his day is not celebrated widely in the world, it is by the Welsh.  And since my dad was born in a small village in the Garw Valley of South Wales, we celebrated St. David's Day every year with a bouquet of daffodils and some freshly baked Welsh Cakes.  

Welsh Cakes are done on a griddle and, as you can see, they  look similar to a pancake but taste nothing like that.  That were a favorite of ours as children and when I grew up, my mother always baked a batch as a present for me for my birthday and Christmas (they are that good)

And since there weren't any books for kids available to me for posting today, I thought I would post my mother's recipe for Welsh Cakes.  And yes, that is lard among the ingredients. I should say my mom tried making them with vegetable shortening, but they were hard as hockey pucks and tasteless.  Sadly, only lard works and so these have become once a year treats now. 

Welsh Cakes
½ lb. self-raising flour
¼ lb. pure lard
¼ lb. sugar
2 oz sultanas or currants or raisins
1 egg
1 heaped teaspoonful nutmeg
1 heaped teaspoonful salt

Crumble the lard into the flour by hand; add sugar, sultanas, nutmeg, and salt. Mix in the beaten egg – adding a little milk if necessary – till just right to roll out to about a bare quarter of an inch thick. Cut into rounds about 2 ½ inches in diameter - a glass works nicely.

In the meantime the griddle should have been heating, and when you think it is ready, rub it over with larded paper. Try it for temperature with a scrap of dough and regulate the heat so that the dough browns evenly without burning in about seven to ten minutes, then place as many of the Welsh Cakes on it as possible. Turn over when all are evenly brown (about ten minutes) and cook the other side the same. 

Happy St. David's Day