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
In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone,
young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands
of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they
discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool--who is being
hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly
collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is
faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to
a place where freedom might finally be possible. (description from Amazon.com)
I had heard how great Ship Breaker was...it won awards, even... but I just hadn't had time to read another dystopian book in the last year or so that wasn't already high on my priorities list. Well, I'm gonna have to make time to go back and read it now, because the companion book was stellar.
This book is set in a dark, war torn dystopian United States (well, what's left of it, that is...). It is gritty and violent and compelling. There is no romance and really little hope. Yet... you read (or listen) continuously searching for the seeds of hope and finding little hints that it may yet be there to find.
Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's startlingly realistic and raw dystopian novels, Bacigalupi is an author for those readers who do not want their gritty future tied to a cheesy romance... this is for a more hard core, action seeking science fiction reader.
Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ
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. (description from Amazon.com)
I thought that this was a really interesting, slightly magical easy read. 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 was well depicted and that the spiritual journey Uido faced was intriguing.
My Name is Not Easy
by Debby Dahl Edwardson
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.
(description from Amazon.com)
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 - I had trouble tracking the time passing, etc.
Promise the Night
by Michaela MacColl
Beryl moved with her family to the highlands of Kenya as a toddler. Not long after, her mother and brother returned to England, abandoning her with her rough though loving father. MacColl's account begins when a leopard steals into Beryl's hut and attacks her dog—the child leaping from her bed to give chase. Though she loses the leopard in the night, the next morning, she and her new friend, a Nandi boy, Kibii, find the dog still alive and save it. Later she insists on being part of the hunt for the leopard. Young Beryl wants nothing more than to be a warrior, a murani, and to be able to leap higher than her own head. Her jumping skills progress apace, but young white girls, no matter how determined, cannot become part of the Nandi tribe. Her relationship with Kibii's father, the wise Arap Maina, along with a growing awareness of the consequences of her actions, help lead her into a more mature—though still wildly impulsive and daring—life. (description from author's website)
I *really* liked this one. It is the story of Beryl Markham's wild childhood in Africa, with the chapters interspersed with actual journal entries and interviews that Beryl did as a grown woman when she became a famous pilot. Beryl's interaction with the local Nandi tribe were also interesting and funny. Well written and very engaging!
