Review: How High the Moon by Sandra Kring

It's small town America in the 1950's and Isabella, nicknamed Teaspoon, is in danger of failing fifth grade. She is imaginative and endearing, naive and plainly outspoken, outrageously talkative and fiercely loving. Living with Teddy, her mother's ex-boyfriend, the man her mother left her with five years ago when she went off to Hollywood to follow her dreams without regard to her daughter's welfare, Teaspoon may be a figure that should be pitied, but she's got charm and spunk to spare. Teddy turns out to be a good man and wonderful father to Teaspoon, even if he struggles to find the money to keep going, and Teaspoon wants to honor his goodness to her by becoming a better person herself, becoming a lady. Her only frame of reference for doing so though, is her elderly next door neighbor who has recently been landed with the care of her great-grandson, a seemingly insipid child just younger than Teaspoon, and the Taxi Cab Ladies, prostitutes whom Teaspoon has befriended (without quite knowing what they are, only understanding that they have a soft spot for her chatterbug self).

Rather grudgingly, Teaspoon allows her teacher to sign her up for a mentoring program called the Sunshine Sisters, which pairs young girls with older role models in the town. Teaspoon is claimed by town sweetheart Brenda Bloom after an unconventional meeting in the town's movie theater, a place beloved by Teaspoon and owned by Brenda's mother. The summer and their mentoring meetings are taken up by preparations for a revue to re-open the renovated and expanded theater. Teaspoon and Brenda are central to these plans and the events that happen in the lead up. Through it all Teaspoon doesn't stop wishing for her mom to come home and take up with Teddy again, she befriends Charlie, the neighbor's great-grandson whom she earlier disdained, and she dreams of her own big singing break.

Teaspoon narrates the entire novel so the reader is treated to her misunderstanding of people and events and charmed by her naivete even when certain things are perfectly clear to the adult reader. Certainly there are times that Teaspoon can be irritating and persistent and the other characters acknowledge this but it just makes her voice as a 10 year old girl that much more authentic. Sometimes she is world weary as only young who have seen more than their far share can be. And it is these variations in her character that make her such a delight to read. The storyline isn't precisely filled with surprises but that's easy to forgive in such a hopeful and endearing novel. I enjoyed every page of this adventure with Teaspoon and found myself smiling at the smallest of things as I read: her fierce crush on the older neighbor, learning to consider and honor Charlie's feelings about her mother's piano, her proprietary air toward Brenda when sparring with Brenda's mother, and her solution to the scuffed up new shoes she's supposed to wear for the revue. I could go on and on mentioning these little instances that create her character out of lovely whole cloth but I'll refrain. Instead, I will say that this is a wonderful book and I'm infinitely happy to have had the chance to read it.

My thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy of the novel.

Review: The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

Todd Johnson has written a moving tale of what it means to grow older, facing not only the end of a life, but also of the physical and mental infirmities that often times accompany and dehumanize the elderly in so many small ways. In drawing his portraits of the five main characters, compassionate nursing home LPN Lorraine, demanding Margaret whose body has become a traitor to her will, Bernice who has retreated most of the time into dementia in order to escape her overwhelming grief, Rhonda who intends for her hairdressing job at the retirement home to be a fleeting occasion but who learns about love and caring from her ladies there, and Lorraine's daghter April who not only dares to dream but works to make her dreams a reality, Johnson has created a gentle and bittersweet novel.

Narrated in the voices of four of the five women, Johnson has not only managed to write one believable female character but to write five of them. He weaves humor and pathos in equal measure and quietly focuses on the indignities of aging that come for all of us lucky enough to accumulate many years on this planet of ours. There is no shying away from the ways in which aging isn't pretty or comfortable or easy. And there is a definite ackowledgment of the rage against the inevitable. But as the narrative runs throughout the years of these women's lives, their attitudes, their kindnesses, and the love that they show each other highlight the ways in which we can all maintain dignity and spunk to the very end no matter how bowed the bodies and how forgetful the minds.

Anyone who has cared for an aging parent or grandparent will see the sharp reflections of truth in the everyday existences of these characters. While there might be no grand denouement, just the business of waking up every day and moving forward for these characters makes this a wonderful and poignant read. Often narrated in a bit of Southern dialect, the five women are quite different representations of Southern womenhood but they gell despite their differences and the result is a thoroughly Southern novel which will appeal to anyone who likes their novels with a bit of that trademarked Southern sass and verve. The book chronicles the quiet march of time and brings the reader to care deeply for all the women as they age and especially as the elders leave the stage to the increasingly stooped middle generation. Johnson has truly created a quiet gem of a novel.

Todd Johnson's website

Todd Johnson's blog

THE SWEET BY AND BY on Facebook

Todd Johnson has a wonderful new video that was just released.

Also, he’s currently on a Southern tour right now. If you are anywhere near Raleigh, NC today, Fairhope, AL on Apr. 22, or Litchfield, CT on May 13, you can meet the author himself. A link to the full tour is here.

Todd Johnson will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on April 26, 2010 at 4pm EST. Be sure to tune in and listen.



Thanks to Trish at TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy of this book.

And although Mr. Johnson now lives in Connecticut, he was born, raised, and attended college in North Carolina so I am claiming him for the Literary Road Trip. It doesn't hurt that the book is also set in NC as well.

Giveaway: The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs

Book Synopsis:

Steve Bennett is a perfect navy officer with a perfect navy family and he's confident that his world is just the way it should be. But his son wants to be an artist instead of attending the U.S. Naval Academy , and his stalwart and capable wife of 20 years, Grace, is tired of being the perfect navy wife. She wants her own home, and she wants her own career. She's feeling altogether unsettled, but nothing is more unsettling than the secret her husband has hidden from her their entire marriage. Nothing, that is, until the accident on the carrier.

Learn more on Susan Wigg's website.

Doesn't this sound wonderful? Thanks to the very generous folks at Big Honcho Media you could win this book and a $25 Visa gift card! That's right. One person will win the book and the giftcard both. Two other readers will win copies of the book. Pretty spectacular, I'd say!

To enter, leave a comment below with a way to contact you if you win. Contest is open through May 3rd.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Computer is still messing with my life and kiddie activities took over all my reading time this week. Pah! So I got about nothing finished on the reading and very little on the reviewing front. Better luck next week. This meme is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books.

Books I completed this week are:

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Great Lakes Nature by Mary Blocksma (this is going to take me all year as I read her year's entries on the corresponding days of this year)
Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney
Nana by Emile Zola
The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

Reviews posted this week:

Alexandra, Gone by Anna McPartlin
How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly by Connie May Fowler
Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini
Into the Tangle of Friendship by Beth Kephart
The Blue Yonder by Alex Shearer

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):

The Gravedigger's Cottage by Chris Lynch
A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C.A. Belmond
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorrian Cirrone
The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Giveaway on the blog this week:
Check out my next post for a giveaway of Susan Wiggs' The Ocean Between Us!

Monday Mailbox

I have been incredibly spoiled this past week by the absolute April shower of books arriving practically daily around here. That's a sure sign that one of my annual commitments reading-wis is ramping up again. Here's hoping I can keep up with the stream of books! Or at least have them read by the time they should be read. This past week's mailbox arrivals:

Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden came from the publisher.
A novel of friendship and the ways that we remain unknown even to those close to us, this sounds like it could be very thoughtful.

Blame by Michelle Huneven came from the publisher.
I have heard great things about this novel of a college professor who awakens from a bender to find she's run down and killed a woman and her daughter.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell came from the publisher.
I have read and been impressed with other Mitchell books so this historical fiction set in Japan really piqued my interest.

Juliet by Anne Fortier came from the publisher.
Invoke Shakespeare and you've likely got me good. Have a modern day woman inherit a key to a safey-deposit box, leading her to information about her famous relative, the woman who inspired *that* Juliet and actually loved *that* Romeo, and I'm probably yours for life.

College in a Nutskull by Anders Henriksson came from the publisher.
My teenager grabbed this when he saw it and scarpered off with it. I just hope he realizes that this is a parody of a study guide with loads of hilarious misinformation in it and he doesn't think that he's learning anything for school from it!

Between Friends by Kristy Kiernan came from Kathryn at Berkley/NAL.
Mothers, daughters, friends, and the way that a genetic illness can change the baby plans and the lifes of everyone. This sounds just up my aley.

On Folly Beach by Karen White came from Joy at Joan Schulhafer Publishing and Media.
A bookstore, a beach, and love letters, how could this be anything but wonderful? I will add that a nasty postal machine chewed up this package and book. But when I flipped through it, I was delighted to see that the damage is all confined to the gutters so I can read it without fear of having a large chunk of text missing. :-)

Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow came from Joy at Joan Schulhafer Publishing and Media.
A romantic comedy where a newly single mom, the doppelganger of a famous actress, ends up posing as the actress for publicity outings set up by the actress' manager. A different look into celebrity life, this one sounds like a lot of fun.

The Hundred Foot-Journey by Richard Morais came from the Rose Marie at Inkwell Management.
An Indian family opens a restaurant in France an subsequently ends up in a feud with another local restauranteur. I just want to eat up the description of this one because it sounds absolutey marvelous!

Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger came from the publisher.
I've already reviewed this one at here.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave came from the publisher.
The utter lack of information and shroud of secrecy surrounding this one, even in reviews, is enticing.

Honolulu by Alan Brennert came from the publisher.
I've read Brennert's work before and enjoyed it. Add to that the whole picture bride idea, which has always held some fascination for me, and of course I would be interested in this book.

A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova came from the publisher.
A memoir written by a woman who grew up in the Societ Union yet was fascinated by the English language, this will be very different than many of the memoirs I have read over the years.

Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka and Francesco Sedita came from the publisher.
The first in a new series about a boy who goes off to his first day in a new school, in a new town and meets up with aliens, this one has all the hallmarks of high entertainment for my 8 year old.

Lunatic Express by Carl Hoffman came from Michael at Regal Literary.
I really do love travel books and how fantastic is one that has the author traveling around the world by the most dangerous transports he can find? I'm glad I can armchair travel with this one rather than boarding an over-crowded ferry somewhere!

As always, if you'd like to see the marvelous goodies in other people's mailboxes, make sure to visit Marcia at The Printed Page and enjoy seeing how we are all doing our part to keep the USPS and delivery services viable.

Sunday Salon: Books in busy weekends

This was a dance competition weekend for my daughter, R. I don't know if you've ever been to a dance competition before so I'll draw you a bit of a picture. First, you find out when your child needs to be at the host venue. This means when she (or he, if you have a boy so inclined) not only needs to be there but needs to be ready to go on stage. Typically this runs anywhere from an hour to two ahead of when the venue itself has said your child will go on stage. This weekend that meant that we drove several hours, checked into a hotel and endured the most miserable night of sleep I think I've ever had. Sharing a bed with my tossing, turning, tooth-grinding, hair flipping, bed hog of a child is never fun. Paper-thin hotel walls, outside road traffic, an impossibly loud air conditioner, and some sort of intermittent drilling noise just outside the window (maybe someone else's air conditioner?) didn't improve my sleeplessness. The alarm went off at 6:30 so we could make a 7am call time although I'd been awake since 4:30. We sleepwalked our way to the dressing room and I proceded to plaster my beautiful daughter with more make-up than you find at the local cosmetics counter. Since it was so early, when I went to put her fake eyelashes on, I managed to glue her eyes shut. Not my best show. But finally she was costumed and painted and ready to go so we sat around for more than an hour.

You'd think during this "sitting around waiting time" I would have been able to read, right? Well, not really. The waiting is usually done in the auditorium so that you can show support for the other dancers by watching their solos as well. And it's dark in there. Plus I am still getting to know many of the other parents and I'm not eager to be known as the anti-social mom. Once they know me, I won't care. ;-) So the solo finally rolled around and it wasn't great. R.'s teacher had changed a portion of it just two days prior and so R. forgot the changes, pausing while looking like a deer in headlights on stage. She pulled it together and continued onwards and finished it without a breakdown though so she's clearly more emotionally advanced than her mother is. At her age, I would have been in tears.

After the solo there was a barge-load more waiting time interrupted by lunch and the awards ceremony for the solos. Still no reading accomplished during this time because it was too loud (think nightclub with twee music choices) and dark in the auditorium, too weird to sit in the dressing room amongst half undressed pre-pubescent (and some not so pre) girls with a book in my lap, and too windy to sit outside in the chill sun. Color me enormously bored. So I did what any self respecting book loving mother would do, I dumped my kid on another parent and walked off to search out the famous, local independent bookstore for a good browse. Score! Four books richer, I ambled back to the auditorium feeling at least partially refreshed.

Three costume changes for R.'s group numbers later, it was time to leave. I hadn't read one thing besides a menu all day long and I was exhausted but at least I'd managed to sink into a bookish atmosphere for a brief moment or two. Today isn't looking promising for reading either given the two tennis matches the boys have scheduled, but maybe I can take a book to stroke lovingly or something so I don't suffer complete and total book withdrawal.

I only managed one book journey this past week, eavesdropping on the fight to outlaw polygamy in historic Utah and the search for the truth about a murder in a modern day polygamist sect. All other bookmarks stayed sadly abandonned and stagnant.

Review: The Great Blue Yonder by Alex Shearer

I don't generally read a load of YA books but when the middle school librarian asked me to read and review some for her, I was more than happy to oblige so I picked out a whole stack of goodies and promptly ignored them. Now that the school year is starting to wind down, I thought I should get the book read, reviewed and returned in time for some of the kids to have a crack at them before summer comes and they have to wait for the fall for these particular books.

Narrated by 12 year old Harry after he is hit by a truck and dies, this is an interesting and ultimately upbeat book. Harry wanders around the Other Side, roaming through the adults who have died and meeting another young boy who has been dead for 150 years. The two pair up as Harry learns his way around the afterlife, even as he wonders about the Great Blue Yonder marked on the map he was given the day he arrived. Instinctively he knows that he cannot move on until he finishes his business on earth, notably forgiving his sister for her harsh words before he died and in turn forgiving hers back to him. Just before he raced off on his bike and was hit, his sister Eggy had told him she wished he would die and he said she'd be sorry when he was dead. Certainly not the last words you want to ever say to a loved one on either side. And so as he and his buddy Arthur zip around the Other Side trying to find Arthur's mother, Harry ponders how he can indeed apologize and free Eggy and himself. When Harry and Arthur go back to Earth, they look in on Harry's old school, his best friend, his enemy, and his family and Harry learns some truths about who he was in life and how his absence has affected everyone and it's not exactly as he's imagined it.

Shearer keeps the tone of the story light and Harry's active imagination, even post-death, is entertaining. Harry is very definitely a 12 year old boy with all that that entails and so middle schoolers will definitely relate to him and his anxieties. The other characters are really incidental to Harry's quest to make things right and we only ever see them through his immature eyes but his dawning understanding of life and his earthly relationships makes this dead character experience believable growth. The moral of the story is well handled and doesn't overwhelm the charming character of Harry or of his experiences after death on the Other Side and back on Earth. A quick read about an unusual situation, this will offer a pleasant variety to most middle school libraries.