When Audrey Met Alice

Being First Kid would be awesome, right?  Well, maybe not...

Rebecca Behrens' When Audrey Met Alice is a great blend of contemporary & historical fiction.

Audrey Rhodes' mother is the President, making her First Daughter (aka FIDO...poor girl)- it's hard enough for her to make friends, but when her epic birthday party is cancelled due to a security breach, she's ready to throw in the towel.  That night, though, she finds Alice Roosevelt's journal hidden in the floor boards.  Will the former First Daughter's words help Audrey navigate life in the White House?

This was such a fun read!  And very educational and interesting.  I had actually never known about Alice Roosevelt, and now I regret that (but! have some books coming on "Princess Alice.")  She was so feisty, spunky and fun! I, for one, did not know that we were doing yoga here in the US in 1901.

The book tackles multiple issues, but a central issue is gay rights.  Both now, and back when Alice was First Daughter.  Audrey's Uncle Harrison and his boyfriend Max live in Madison (Yay! Wisconsin mention!).  Since Harrison's sister is the President, the issue is approached by many of the current characters.  We discover, too, that Alice was an advocate for gay rights, and received a letter calling her an "honorary homosexual."  It's true!  I Googled it!  Other themes in the book are parent-child relationships, smoking, responsibility, and love (or crushes).

Audrey and Alice also raise the question about life in the White House, and whether or not it's a fairy tale.  Especially harder for Audrey, with the rise of social media, she feels imprisoned.  So, it may be like a fairy tale, but perhaps one like "Rapunzel" where she's locked in the tower.

Life is hard enough when you're thirteen.  It's a hormonal/emotional roller-coaster in the first place, and it's when you're beginning to discover yourself.  To not have that freedom to find yourself would be so much worse.  Audrey could do worse than looking to Alice Roosevelt to help her through the First Family rough patch.

I would recommend this for middle-grade girls, especially.  Those interested in history- I'd suggest it as a step up from girls who like the American Girl series.  Like I said, it's a fun book!  I read it in a day and a half (darn work and sleep, getting in the way).  I learned so much I didn't know before, and wish Alice Roosevelt had been mentioned more in my history classes!

[Note for Educators: There are Common Core-aligned Guides for this title]

When Audrey Met Alice is published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.  Review ARC graciously provided by the publisher.

Release Date: 02.04.2014

Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier

Mother/Son team Ying Chang and Vinson Compestine created a wonderful middle-grade, historical fiction novel: Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier.

Thirteen-year-old Ming lives in the small village of Red Star in Maoist China in the 1970s. His father, an archaeologist, is convinced that Emperor Qin’s tomb (and his Terra-Cotta army) is in the area.  But if Ming’s father doesn’t prove it soon, the town’s Political Officer will condemn him to the brutal labor camps. When a terra-cotta soldier is found, and begins speaking, Ming learns about Emperor Qin, the history of the terra-cotta army, and what life was like for the soldier.  As the two become friends, Ming experiences adventure like he'd never expected!  Will they be able to save Ming's father, and outwit the Political Officer?

This was an amazing weave of history and fiction.  Ying and Vinson created a fantastical adventure that will appeal to boys (and girls).  It's almost...Indiana Jones meets Aladdin (and the Goonies).  Caves, treasures, booby traps ("that's what I said!  booty traps!")  And throw in an ancient Chinese golem (or terra-cotta soldier).

The book is filled with Chinese history from both Ming and Shi (the soldier).  There are illustrations and pictures throughout with captions describing life in Maoist and Qin Dynasty China.  The setting descriptions are very detailed, making the reader feel as if he/she is actually there.  

The book also includes a glossary (with both Chinese characters and romanization for pronunciation), a brief history of both the Qin Dynasty and Maoist China, and a Q&A session with the authors.  Oh!  And there's a stir-fry recipe at the end!

I would highly recommend this for collections.  I believe it fits with common core standards...and is just an entertaining, educational, interesting book.  Great for bringing in young, male readers.



Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier is published by Amulet Books (a division of Abrams).  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Release Date: 01.07.2014

Boxers & Saints (Part II)

Saints is Gene Yang's graphic novel that parallels Boxers.

It is the story of Four Girl- the fourth daughter born, on the fourth day of the fourth month, and the only one of her mother's children to live past a year.  Her grandfather refuses to give her a name, because "four" is a homonym for "death."  She is unwanted in her home, and finds solace (and food) from the Christian missionaries and converts.  She takes the saintly name Vibiana, and begins working at an orphanage in a Christian compound.  Throughout the novel, she sees visions of Joan of Arc.  Guided by Saint Joan, she becomes a maiden warrior, fighting for her faith against the Boxers.  

This graphic novel, as with its companion, is very well done.  It takes the alternate perspective- that of the Christians converts and foreigners- and contrasts it with those fighting to free China from them.  The book also does particularly well with highlighting symbolism in Chinese numerology, as well as showing the place of females in that society.  

The colors are mainly sepia, with visions of Joan of Arc in bright gold.  The gold gave a very ethereal feel, and more purposeful than ghastly.  Like "pay attention to me- I'm not haunting you, I'm actually showing you something very important."

One thing that really caught me was a layout-ish difference between the two novels.  In Boxers, the chapters are titled by years- in Saints, by Vibiana's age.  This was kind of a punch-in-the-gut for me, as I hadn't realized how young these characters were.  While reading Boxers I had assumed the characters were in their twenties.  I was wrong.

Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I connected more with Saints.  However, I can't really compare the two volumes separately.  Together they tell the story of an important time in history, from two perspectives, and they do it in a way that is accessible- but still heart-wrenching.  They weave together the society, history, traditions, religions, arts and symbolism of that period in China.  The illustrations are fantastic.  

All in all, a perfect recipe for reaching kids and adults alike.  Boxers & Saints gets two thumbs up from this librarian!


For my review on Boxers, click here.



Saints is published by :01 First Second.  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Release Date: 09.10.13

Boxers & Saints (Part I)

Confession- when I get excited, I do this with my hands:

And this is exactly what happened when I got my hands on the review copies of Gene Luen Yang's Boxers & Saints two-volume graphic novel.  

When I was getting my MLIS, Mr. Yang's American Born Chinese was required for my YA lit class.  I read it twice in as many days.  I still grab it when I see it on the shelf at the library, and flip through at my desk or on breaks.  I just love the way this man writes and illustrates.

Boxers is the first in a two-volume graphic novel series about the Boxer Rebellion.  It is the story of Little Bao, a young man in 1898 China, who has had enough of missionaries and foreign soldiers hurting those he cares about.  A major breaking point leads him to form a band of common villagers. He trains them in kung fu- they are called Boxers (or "The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists").  They make their way to Peking, fighting to free China from the "foreign devils."

Little Bao's journey is one side of this historical uprising.  Yang's narration and drawing is...magical.  I had actually never heard of the Boxer Rebellion.  Well, I may have heard of it, but hadn't looked into it at all.  I loved the way this graphic novel wove together history, folklore, religion, and traditional arts.  The overlying colors are incredibly neutral, and then Chinese Gods and Goddesses, opera characters, and puppets come out in shockingly bright, beautiful colors.  It's this awesome punch that really shows what Little Bao is feeling.  There is laughter and heartbreak, all told beautifully.  It makes a pretty rough topic accessible to young adults.

Plus, there's a climactic library scene.

The main character's name has a place in my heart as well.  My sister spent a few months in China, and every morning went to the same bakery and ordered the same thing: Gai Mei Bao.  To the point where the ladies started calling her Bao (it is also one of the few things I can actually order in Chinese [and the extent of my Chinese is absolutely just food]).

I can't speak enough praise about this graphic novel.  I enjoy anything that makes me want to learn more about...anything.  Like how Mirror, Mirror made me go on a Borgia stint.  I have a feeling I will be researching this for the next few weeks.

I'll be reviewing Boxers' parallel novel, Saints, next.




Boxers is published by :01 First Second.  Digital Copy provided by NetGalley.
Release Date:  09.10.13

I Am Algonquin

As it says in my brief, little, header thingie at the top of my "About Me" section- I grew up in Downeast Maine.  As the crow flies, 2 miles from Canada, and about 15 from the Atlantic Ocean.  My father worked as a Forester for the Passamaquoddy Tribe. -And yes, before we moved there, all I could think of was the town in Pete's Dragon. I grew up with close friends within the tribe (even another Sarah Dawn!), and was frequently around that culture.  In fact, for a report for grad school few years ago, I was watching the PBS show Colonial House.  I knew it had been filmed near my hometown, but was surprised to see George, a family friend, on the show in full costume.  He and my father were good friends- they hunted moose together, and George helped build our log home. He has since passed away, but I do rent the DVDs from time to time when I'm feeling homesick.

The above paragraph is part of the reason I wanted to read I Am Algonquin: An Algonquin Quest Novel by Rick Revelle.  The Passamaquoddy tribe is part of the Wabanaki Confederacy, and is part of the Algonquin Nation.  The Wabanaki Confederacy consisted of five tribes that banded together in response to Iroquois aggression. The Tribe was such a large part of my childhood, I wanted to learn more about Algonquin history.

I Am Algonquin is a Young Adult historical novel that follows Mahingan and his family in 14th century Ontario.  Through it, the reader learns traditional Algonquin ways of life- hunting, playing sports, marriages, births, deaths, tribal conflicts and warfare, and the rites of passage for boys to become men.  It was really interesting to learn more about the gender roles, and how highly regarded women were.  

I wasn't the biggest fan of the dialogue.  While I enjoyed learning the vernacular, it just felt...clunky. It kind of reminded me of that scene in Anchorman where Baxter is talking to the Bear. I could understand if they were trying to speak English- but since this is 14th century, pre-European invasion...they are supposed to be speaking their native tongue, and I would figure it would flow a bit more smoothly.  It did seem to get better toward the end- maybe I just got used to it.

As I said in my post on far far away I love learning languages.  I appreciated Revelle's use of the Algonquin language in his narrative.  However, it got to be a bit distracting.  Each Algonquin word was followed by a parenthetical translation.  This would have been fine, except he uses a lot of Algonquin vocabulary.  I think it would have been much smoother to have footnotes on each page with the translation (this is probably just personal preference).  Revelle does include a glossary at the end of the book- instead of footnotes, he could've maybe just written the Algonquin in bold in the text?

Also, there was a point where the point-of-view suddenly changed from first person (Mahingan) to third-person.  It threw a wrench in the flow of reading, because all of a sudden we're getting two perspectives and thinking "Wait...how can Mahingan be both here and here at the same time?  And why is he referring to himself in the third-person?"

Those are my only pseudo-complaints (they're really not that big- they didn't detract much from the overall story).  While I mentioned I wasn't a fan of the dialogue, I have to say I was a huge fan of the descriptive narration.  I would read ten pages on a battle and not even realize it!  The final battle alone is worth the read.

One of my favorite scenes involves a woodland buffalo hunt with members of the Wabanaki Tribe.  From the tracking to the kill to the butchering, I was enraptured (I grew up around all this, so it wasn't a tough read).  There is actually a point where he is describing the smell of the decaying meat, and I remembered the time my Dad had gotten a moose.  He and George came home, and Dad had set the skull (not fully cleaned) on top of the coat closet, and started putting his equipment away.  A week or so went by and we could not figure out what this horrible smell in the house was- I was standing on our landing, and saw a skull/antlers with bits of moose still on it.  So, I absolutely related to that whole chapter.

My other favorite scene was a battle over hunting grounds.  Not just any battle, though!  I was expecting blood and death and war-cries.  I got an epic game of lacrosse.  I wish we still settled disagreements that way...

There are moments of great joy and celebration, moments of fear and sorrow.  It is a good narrative of what life was like for these people in that time.  

I'd rate this probably a 3.5/5.  I loved the history, the description, and learning about Algonquin traditions.  I just wish it had flowed a bit better with the dialogue and vocabulary.  I would recommend this to anyone interested in Tribal history, Canadian history, hunting, and languages.  


I Am Algonquin: An Algonquin Quest Novel is published by Dundurn. ARC provided by NetGalley.