Review: Tall Story

Tall Story

by Candy Gourlay

Book Description:

Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.

Review:

I hadn't been sure I would like this story, but it was actually a very touching, almost folk-story feeling tale.

I loved both Bernardo and Andi in different ways. He was a wonderful boy, who just happened to grow 8 feet tall, and had to deal with how that affected how all the people around him viewed him. Andi was fiesty, loyal, and incredibly impatient to be independent...and yet, she loved her brother without reservation.  Their family loyalty was amazing to read about!

With a slight touch of "magic" and a great, loving family, this turned out to be a great read! I recommend it if you like real life family stories, folk tales, or even just books about basketball!


Review: My Name is Not Easy

My Name is Not Easy
by Debby Dahl Edwardson

Book Description:
My name is not easy. My name is hard like ocean ice grinding the shore . . . Luke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. So he leaves it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles away from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School, students—Eskimo, Indian, White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on. Here, speaking Iñupiaq—or any native language—is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey. Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. But he’s not the only one. There’s smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader— if he doesn’t self-destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small, quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. They each have their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School—and the wider world—will never be the same.

Review:
There were parts of this book I really enjoyed. I thought the characters were well drawn and I learned a lot about Alaskan culture during the Cold War. I had no idea that Eskimos and other native tribes were all thrown together in schools far from their own homes. 

I did feel, though, like this book was disjointed and so I had trouble sticking with it. There were a lot of major, important events that happened to the kids in this book and they happened over several years...but I couldn't really keep track of the time that was passing in the book.  It just didn't quite work for me.

Review: Island's End

Island's End

by Padma Venkatraman

Book Description:

Uido is ecstatic about becoming her tribe's spiritual leader, but her new position brings her older brother's jealousy and her best friend's mistrust. And looming above these troubles are the recent visits of strangers from the mainland who have little regard for nature or the spirits, and tempt the tribe members with gifts, making them curious about modern life. When Uido's little brother falls deathly ill, she must cross the ocean and seek their help. Having now seen so many new things, will Uido have the strength to believe in herself and the old ways? And will her people trust her to lead them to safety when a catastrophic tsunami threatens? Uido must overcome everyone's doubts, including her own, if she is to keep her people safe and preserve the spirituality that has defined them.

Review:
I thought that this was a really interesting and slightly magical easy read.  The main character, Uido, was cool, because she really just wanted to help her people.  She was scared sometimes, but she pulled through to save her people.  I liked how it is based on real natives from real islands off the coast of India. I had no idea they were even there! I thought the culture clash they experienced with the people in mainland India was well depicted and that the spiritual journey Uido faced was very intriguing.

If You Like: Stories about Pranks and Hazing

If You Like… is a feature highlighting blogger recommendations for books, authors, TV shows, movies, and music based on the things you already know and love.

This week's post includes all types of books and movies that have pranks or hazing.  While pranks can be a lot of fun, when it turns into the more dangerous form of hazing, things can get a little rough... check out our recommendations HERE!

What's on My Hold List?

I wanted to try out a new feature...

I think it will be fun a lot of fun!

Each month, I'll let you know

"What's on My Hold List?"

One of the most beautiful things about working at our Library is that I know what's coming out and what we'll be getting and I can put the books on hold right away!

These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for:

 

Page by Paige

by Laura Lee Gulledge

Freshman Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense

by Corinne Mucha

Surrender

by Lee Nichols

Haunting Emma, book three

*This one is still on my hold list...apparently it's taking forever to come in. I'm getting REALLY close to breaking down and buying it...I really need to know how it ends!!*

 

 

*If you click on each title, it will take you to the book on

Amazon.com for more information. :)*

 

 

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...

what are YOU waiting for??