A Girl Called Problem

A Girl Called Problem
by Katie Quirk

Thirteen-year-old Shida, whose name means "problem" in Swahili, certainly has a lot of problems in her life -- her father is dead, her depressed mother is rumored to be a witch, her family bears the weight of a curse, and everyone in her rural Tanzanian village expects her to marry rather than pursue her dream of becoming a healer.

So when the elders of Litongo make a controversial decision to move Shida's people to a nearby village, Shida welcomes the change. Surely the opportunity to go to school and learn from a nurse can only mean good things. Nonetheless, mysterious calamities plague Shida's people after their move. Desperate to stay, Shida must prove to her people that life can be better in their new home. (Description from Amazon.com)

I found this book to be surprisingly easy to read and very interesting. I learned about a period of African history that I knew nothing about previously. I loved that Shida wanted so desperately to become a learned woman, a nurse, and that, though she met some resistance, there were people who supported her dream and that she persisted to help make her dream come true. I liked the mystery aspect of this book and was pleased with how things worked out.

A different book than I would normally read, but one that I would recommend!

Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan 

Hokey Pokey

Hokey Pokey

by Jerry Spinelli

Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen—and by a girl, no less—his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that's impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks. (description from Amazon.com)

I had a really hard time with this book. When you start reading it, it's as if you are waking up and have entered a dream. Nothing is explained very well and Spinelli reveals the way things work veerrrryyyy slowly.

At first I really had no idea what Hokey Pokey was supposed to be - why were the kids there, what IS this place? I was SO confused. It took until more than halfway through the book for me to understand enough to realize that Hokey Pokey was a metaphor for the land of childhood!

 

I had an inkling, but it took a long time for that theme to really develop itself.  I found so many things confusing, and in the audio book version, there is no map of Hokey Pokey, so that was a little disorienting and the words "Hokey Pokey" are also used by Spinelli for four different things...not at all confusing to listen to!

 

Overall, I found that the concept of this book has been explored better in other books. I found the writing style (almost stream of consciousness) to be disorienting, and I just never really felt at all invested in the characters.  In fact, I found myself mostly pissed off at the author listening, because every time I tried to like a character, they did something stereotypical or gender specific that just made me aggravated all over again. 

 

I almost want to write to Spinelli and ask why he felt the need to have boys and girls feel they need to be at war with one another constantly? Why they can't like the same things?  Why they had separate sections of Hokey Pokey to enjoy?

Not the book for me. :/

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

Rift

Rift

by Andrea Cremer

prequel to Nightshade

 

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind. (description from Amazon.com)

 

It's been a little while since I read an Andrea Cremer book and I'd forgotten how easily she draws me right into the Nightshade world! Now, this book is a prequel, so it takes place in an older society, and I thought she did a really great job fleshing out this time period. Though many things are still secret (we are dealing with a secret sect of a religious army derived from the Templars, after all), the process by which the initiates choose and are accepted into their branch of service was well thought out and interesting, and the power structure of their world was explored just enough to be illuminating, but Cremer wisely withheld enough to make things very intriguing for the sequel...

 

I liked the very Celtic feel of this time and place.  This was strongly enhanced by listening to the narrator of the audio book, Sile Birmingham, who did an excellent Scots accent.  With action, romance, and a very creepy "bad guy," I cannot wait to dive into this world again in the sequel, Rise, which will be coming out this spring.  

 

 

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for AudioFile Magazine