YCReads

Author Joanne Oppenheim tells the riveting story of Clara Breed, the children’s librarian of the San Diego Public Library who befriended many of her Japanese American young patrons when war began with Imperial Japan in December of 1941.

Four months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, all Americans of Japanese descent were forced to leave the lives they knew and go to internment camps. This was done despite their allegiance to America and their desire for American citizenship.

Clara Breed was strongly opposed to this action and put her personal and professional safety at risk by speaking out openly. She wrote several articles voicing her opinions in Horn Book Magazine. Miss Breed had developed strong friendships with “her children” and their families. They were heartbroken to leave behind their friends and homes. The San Diego librarian said her tearful goodbyes to the families as they were taken away by train to internment camps throughout the United States. But she also provided the children and young adults with her address and she promised to stay in touch with them.

Through their return letters, the children portrayed the experiences of the incarcerated. Oppenheim provides photographs of these same letters, journal entries, and propaganda used to incite fear of Japanese Americans. As examples of such propaganda, the author includes in her book a copy of a brochure entitled “How to Spot a Jap” and a political cartoon created by Ted Geisel, our beloved Dr. Seuss.

Even though the events in this book took place many decades ago, its message is an important one. After the tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001 we must not see someone as our enemy simply because of their heritage.

Abbie - Rock Hill                                  ISBN  0439569923

Bella arrives in one of the rainiest places in the United States, to live with her dad.  Her mother has recently remarried and Bella has taken it upon herself to leave Arizona and move to Forks, Washington.  She heads off to the local high school and expects to be just as unpopular as she was in Phoenix.  Unexpectedly, everyone is interested in the new girl but Bella is only interested in the beautiful but different Edward.   Edward is part of a local family of vampires who live anonymously among the people of Forks.  This book is the beginning of a series that while geared toward young adults is very readable for adults.  It will make you remember how it felt to be in high school, how it felt to be in love and how it feels to be different and not want anyone to know.

Karen - Fort Mill                                 ISBN   0316160172

I just finished Incantation by Alice Hoffman.  This is a Young Adult book but it has a very meaningful and powerful message.  Estrella deMadrigal is a sixteen year old girl who’s life is changed by the Spanish Inquisition in 1500.  She’s lived a carefree life with her mother, grandmother and grandfather.  Her best friend Catalina is just two weeks younger than she is and the girls could be mistaken as twins.  Rave (Estrella), and Crow (Catalina) had their lives planned so that they would never be separated.  All of that changes when other families in the town are accused of being Marranos, false Christians.  These families are accused of being Jews in secret.  Everything changes for Estrella when she realizes that she and her family are actually Jewish, in hiding.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Anne Frank and the story of Estrella is just as moving.  Even though it is a work of fiction, it’s not hard to imagine that families during the Spanish Inquisition also lived in fear of discovery.  Where Anne Frank actually hid from discovery, Estrella and others had to hide in plain sight.  I would recommend this book to any teen not just because of the story is similar to that of Anne Frank and more modern day Jews.  The story also shows how prejudice can change a person and how one simple accusation can ruin not just one life but several.

Jennifer S. - York                                   ISBN  9780316010191

I first heard about The Book Thief one morning last spring (2006) on Good Morning, America. Charlie Gibson, my all-time favorite newsman, had read the book and was interviewing the author, Markus Zusak. Apparently, Charlie had been captivated by the book and couldn’t say enough good things about it. So, I decided that if the book was good enough for Charlie, it was good enough for me. That same day I went online and purchased a copy from Amazon.

In an effort not to “reinvent the wheel,” I’m going to include the synopsis of the book written by School Library Journal which can be found on Amazon.com: 

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when she’s roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayor’s reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel’s story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.  www.amazon.com

I must admit that I wasn’t immediately taken with the book. The prose seemed a bit flowery and the subject matter was intense, but I was determined to persevere for Charlie’s sake. I just knew he couldn’t have steered me wrong. Then, at some point–though I’m not sure exactly when–I found myself engrossed in the story. I know it sounds cliche, but once I got into it, I could not put the book down. I wanted to know what was going to happen to these people. And, I say “people” not “characters” because I started thinking of this as a story about real, flesh-and-blood people during the Holocaust. It was almost as if I was reading a memoir and not a work of fiction. I cared about them, I cared about their stories, and I even started caring about Death. By the end of the book, I was emotionally drained and sobbing. Not crying. Sobbing.

To be honest, I don’t feel that I can adequately explain why I was so touched by this story. But I was truly touched. Maybe it was because I realized this story could very easily have been true–a little girl losing her family during a war and her attempts to survive and make sense of a world that had gone mad. Even though Liesel Meminger and the other characters were fictional, many aspects of their stories were not. Unfortunately, today we know the truth of World War II, Hitler’s regime, and the horror and human cost of the Holocaust. The Book Thief expertly mirrored this time in history when people were trying to survive in an upside-down world. It was not hard to imagine that these were real people enduring atrocities that no one should ever have to endure. How could I not be moved by the images the story evokes knowing what I know about that era?

And, the prose that at first seemed flowery and over-the-top gradually began to make sense not only as a literary technique but also as an integral part of the story. Zusak, through his word choice and literary style, tried to demonstrate what a powerful effect words can have on people. Liesel was able to calm her neighbors by reading to them while they were seeking refuge from air raids. Through his speeches, Hitler was able to convince the masses to turn on their Jewish friends and neighbors and to commit genocide. Through his words, Zusak made me care about his story and feel emotionally bound to his characters. Zusak showed that words can change lives–both for good and for evil. Words wield immense power.

This book was marketed for young adults, but I think quite a few children in that age bracket (12+ years old) would miss many of the subtle nuances of the book and find it difficult to read the entire novel. Even as an adult, I had to reread passages to get the full impact of what the author was saying. However,even though it was not easy reading, it was excellent and profound reading. I often forget what I’ve read as soon as I finish a book, but The Book Thief has stuck with me for over a year. Some of the details are hazy, but I cannot forget the emotional impact the story had on me. I have recommended it to at least ten people and have even gone so far as to buy copies for friends because I think it is truly worth reading. If you go to Amazon.com, you will see that over 150 people have written reviews of this book and the vast majority give it 5 out of 5 stars. So, I’m not alone in thinking this is a book worth checking out.

**The book contains profanity.

Ruth - Rock Hill                                                          ISBN    0375831002

If you liked the movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” then you must read the books by Ann Brashares.  I say books because you will get sucked into the lives of Bee, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby.  The whole point is these girls are best friends since before birth and are spending their first summer apart.  They find a pair of pants that fit all of them exactly and look good on each of them.  They decide to share the pants and let the pants put magic in their summer and keep them together.  In  The Second Summer you’ll find out how happily ever after isn’t always what you expect.  In Girls in Pants, our girls finish high school,  grow up and make some tough decisions.  The final one written so far is Forever in Blue, their first summer in college.  Okay not my favorite but unfortunately by college our babies are grown up and make mistakes we’d rather not know about but it is part of the growing process.  Sniff, sniff.  At the end the pants are lost, I won’t tell you how but even that seems like a good thing because of the lessons our girls learn.  I’m thinking there should be at least one more to see if they do all stay together.

Ramona - Fort Mill