ELEANOR AND PARK . . .

Every once in a while, I finish a book and have to share it with others.  Immediately.

The last book I felt that way about was A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness.  Perfect.  Before that, it was THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie.  True and heart-breakingly hilarious.

I just closed another book and must share.

ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell.

When I first saw this cover, I thought it was a picture book with thumbprint characters.  It's not.

This young adult novel is about Eleanor, a misfit on the outside, who defies the world and falls in love with Park.  Park, who feels like an outsider, sees beneath Eleanor's odd clothing, big red hair and large frame.  He's attracted to her like Romeo was to Juliet. 

Eleanor lives in a dire and dangerous home.  I worried for her and hoped for her the entire book.  I stayed up way too late several nights.  Just one more chapter.  Just one more . . .

This novel is written beat by beat, moment by moment, feeling by feeling -- simply and honestly.

If you don't believe me, read John Green's review in the New York Times.  Or the multiple starred reviews.   Or the blurbs from well-known authors -- all on Rainbow Rowell's site.

But really, forget about reading all of that and read ELEANOR & PARK.

There will be only one thing to do when you're done.  Tell someone else.

2012 -- ALL BOOKED UP!

Here's the annual list of books I read in 2012 (with occasional comments).

(An asterisk denotes titles intended for adult readers.)

I'd love to hear about YOUR favorite 2012 reads in the comments section.

Let the BOOKFEST begin . . .

1.  Breaking Stalin's Nose --  Eugene Yelchin  (This is an exceptional book that looks deceptively simple, but tells a powerful story from the viewpoint of a young boy.)
2.  Hidden -- Helen Frost
3.  Everything I Was --  Corinne Demas
4.  The Fourth Stall --  Chris Rylander  (This was so funny it won the Sid Fleischman Award.  Middle grade mafia.  Need I say more?)
5.  Illegal -- Bettina Restrepo  (Gripping.  Puts a face/heart to people who come here from other countries.)
6.  Bluefish -- Pat Schmatz  (Thoroughly enjoyed this.)
7.  Kick -- Walter Dean Myers & Ross Workman (Interesting collaboration between a well-established author and a young fan.  Read more about it here.)
8.  She Love You, She Loves You Not -- Julie Anne Peters  (Huge fan of her work.)
9.  The Day Before -- Lisa Schroeder  (Made me a fan of Lisa Schroeder's work.)
10. Words in the Dust -- Trent Reedy  (How did an American man get into the mind and heart of a girl from Afghanistan?  His military background?  His writer's heart?  However he did it, this story is SO GOOD!  It would make a great movie.)
11. Inside Out and Back Again -- Thanhha Lai
12. Zane's Trace -- Allan Wolf
13.  Hound Dog True -- Linda Urban
14. Dear Mr. Henshaw -- Beverly Cleary
15. * Orange Is the New Black -- My Year in a Women's Prison -- Piper Kerman (Very interesting.)
16.  Beneath a Meth Moon -- Jacqueline Woodson  (Does Ms. Woodson write anything that isn't gripping/moving/wonderful?  My favorite of her books so far is If You Come Softly.  A certain scene in that book slayed me.)
17.  Wonder -- R.J. Palacio  (This is the middle grade book you must read.  You will be richer for having met Auggie Pullman.  The author did everything right from exploring an experience that left an impression on her heart to using multiple viewpoints.  It's my pick for this year's Newbery.)
18. Orchards -- Holly Thompson  (Great book in verse.  Like visiting Japan.)
19.  Black Box -- Julie Schumaker
20.  The One and Only Ivan -- Katherine Applegate (This book made an impression on my heart.  Told from the viewpoint of a Silverback Gorilla in captivity and how he attempts to rescue a young elephant.  Told with so much heart.  I pick this for a Newbery Honor.)
21.  Paper Covers Rock -- Jenny Hubbard
22.  Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road) -- Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise (I loved this book for younger readers.  Such fun word play to complement a solid, fun ghost story.)
23.  The Big Crunch -- Pete Hautman
24.  Where Things Come Back -- John Corey Waley
25.  Drawing from Memory -- Allen Say
26.  Curveball:  The Year I Lost My Grip --  Jordan Sonnenblick  (The characters stayed with me long after I closed the book.)
27.  * Seriously, I'm Kidding -- Ellen Degeneres
28.  A Monster Calls -- Patrick Ness  (READ.  THIS.  BOOK.)
29.  See You at Harry's -- Jo Knowles  (A three-hanky read.  Loved it.)
30. Just Write.  Here's How.  -- Walter Dean Myers.  (When the master talks, I listen.)
31. The 13 Clocks -- James Thurber  (Read this while living in the Thurber House this summer.)
32. Keeping the Night Watch -- Hope Anita Smith
33. Monster -- Walter Dean Myers
34.  Please Ignore Vera Deitz -- A.S. King  (Glad to be introduced to this interesting writer.  One of the characters we hear from in this novel is a pagoda.  For an illuminating interview with the author by Sara Zarr, check out This Creative Life podcast.
35. Stolen -- Lucy Christopher  (A page-turner.)
36. The Night She Disappeared -- April Henry (I like April Henry.  I love her books.  They're thoroughly gripping.  This one kept me turning the pages late into the night.)
37. A Tale Dark and Grimm -- Adam Gidwitz (This book surprised and delighted me.  What a fun/gory/inventive take on these tales.  Loved it and can't wait to read the next one, In a Glass Grimmly.)
38. My Life in Dog Year -- Gary Paulsen  (I'm a big fan of Gary Paulesen's books.  This one is a touching collection of his true dog stories.  Really good!)
39. The Laura Line (pub date: 4/23/13) -- Crystal Allen  (Had the pleasure of reading this in manuscript form and offering a blurb.  If you haven't read Allen's first book, treat yourself to a heartfelt laughfest with How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy.  Unique and hilarious voice.)
40. * The Things That Keep Us Here -- Carla Buckley (Oh. My. Gosh!  Stephen King, move over.  Small community.  BIG story.  I will tell you nothing, except GO READ THIS!  Some of the scenes still haunt me, months after reading it.)
41. * The Solitude of Prime Numbers -- Paolo Giordano  (Depressing.)
42. The Classroom -- Robin Mellom
43. Belle Pratter's Boy -- Ruth White
44. * Life Is So Good -- George Dawson and Richard Glaubman (True story of a man who learns to read at 98 and shares his fascinating life.)
45. Drama -- Raina Telgemeier  (Also enjoyed her first graphic novel, Smile.)
46. Small as an Elephant -- Jennifer Richard Jacobson  (A boy goes camping with his mom in Acadia National Park.  In the morning, he wakes to find his Mom's tent gone . . . and his mom gone.  He has to figure out what happened and how to get home.  Wholly in the head of the young boy.  This novel surprised me with its excellence, and I highly recommend it!  A gem!)
47. Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies -- Andrea Beaty (I met Andrea when we were speaking at the same conference.  I found her to be fun, funny and smart -- just like her book!)
48. Never Fall Down -- Patricia McCormick  (Ms. McCormick is a treasure.  Her books bring you face to face with difficult realities in the most intimate way.  They are researched meticulously and wrought beautifully.  Read her other books as well, then watch the documentary, Half the Sky:  Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, which shows some of the things Ms. McCormick writes about so well.)
49. No Crystal Stair: A documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller -- Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Very interesting.  I learned a lot.)
50. Secrets of the Cicada Summer -- Andrea Beaty  (A solid mystery/friendship/family/tragedy story for younger middle grade.)
51. The Fault in Our Stars -- John Green (Come on.  Could this get any more heartbreaking?  LOVED.  EVERY.  PAGE.)
52. * The Buddha in the Attic -- Julie Otsuka (Have you ever read a novel written in third person plural?  The whole thing?  Me neither.  But it worked.  And I learned a lot about those women who came over from Japan, looking for a better life, but finding mostly hard work and disappointments large and larger.)
53.  Boy 21 -- Matthew Quick (Okay, my husband loved reading The Silver Linings Playbook, and we all loved the movie -- Philadelphia references were a big bonus for us.  So I discovered Matthew Quick has written three YA novels.  Boy 21 is terrific!  Basketball, young love, the Irish mafia.  That man can write.  Just ordered Sorta Like a Rockstar and can't wait to devour it.  For an interview with Matthew Quick, check out Sara Zarr's This Creative Life podcast.)

Please leave a comment about your favorite 2012 reads . . .

Should Adults Read Children's Books?

An opinion piece from The Huffington Post made me think about this.  The author's point was that books for children shouldn't have a "Young Adult" designation. 

Actually, her post isn't what got me thinking. 

Scroll past the short post and read the comment by BlackJAC, who states that once you're old enough to vote/gamble/drink, you shouldn't even be reading young adult books.

What?  

There's a hidden (or not so hidden) implication that one's emotional growth must be stunted if one is reading children's books. 

If you're not an educator/librarian/children's book author/parent, should you be reading children's books?

Personally, I read both children's and adult literature.  When I bring our adult children to the library, they head to the adult section and I to the children's section. 

When I research a topic, I always begin in the children's non-fiction section to get a solid overview of the topic before heading to the adult non-fiction section.

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from someone who said she enjoyed Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen and flew through its pages.  The author of that e-mail is 31.  

Why limit oneself?  A great story is a great story.

I'm a richer person for having read Patricia McCormick's Sold.  It gave me context for watching the documentary, Half the Sky, about abuse and oppression of females turned on its head by hope-filled, can-do people.  Jerry Spinelli's Wringer, allowed me to see inside the cruelty of the annual Higgin's Pigeon Shoot, which used to take place near my home.  And Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls allowed me to have a cathartic cry about my mom's death from cancer.

Children's literature contains a wealth of timeless/ageless themes -- surviving loss, cultivating individuality, creating compassion, responding to injustice, etc.  It would be a great loss to dismiss the entire canon of children's literature because one "should outgrow it." 

Has a children's book made an impact on your adult life?  Is it okay to read children's books at any age?  I'd love to know what you think.

A Book So Good . . .

Did you ever read a book so good that even though you were dying to find out what happened next, you read slowly because you didn't want the experience to end?

I knew from the first page that A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness would be that kind of book for me. 

Here are the first few sentences:

The monster showed up just after midnight.  As they do.

Conor was awake when it came.  He'd had a nightmare.  Well, not a nightmare.  The nightmare.

Everything about this book was perfect.  Every sentence just right.  It inspired me to ask questions, then answered each with great satisfaction.  It's a sad book, but a healing one, too.  A beautiful book based on the idea by Siobhan Dowd, who died at 47 from cancer.  Delightfully dark illustrations were created by Jim Kay.  The publisher, Candlewick Press, did a fabulous job making this book.  It deserved every single starred review it earned.

A couple other great books for kids that provide therapy of sorts for dealing with loss, especially from cancer are MILO:  STICKY NOTES AND BRAIN FREEZE by Alan Silberberg and MRS. BIDDLEBOX by the late Linda Smith and illustrator, Marla Frazee.

Two other fantastic books I've enjoyed this year are WONDER by R. J. Palacio and THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate.

Which books have you absolutely loved so far this year?  (Or last year?)  Share your favorite books for children or for adults in the comments section.