The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

I've been drawn lately to young adult fiction, most likely because when I take the boys to the library this section neighbors the children's, so I can keep an eye on my little tornadoes as I browse. This pick came recommended by friend and fellow-reader, Kris. It's kind of in the science fiction category which, in general, would not be my first choice of genres to kick back with. However I can say without hesitation that this read was well worth the risk I took on sci-fi. The protagonist of the story is a young boy, Matt, who is living in a no-mans-land called Opium, whose founder and leader is an elderly man who goes by the title El Patron. Matt learns he is actually a clone of this patriarch of the House of the Scorpion (El Patron's "sign"), which turns out to bring him some measure of both prestige and misery and ultimately warrants a fight for his very life. The story, as riveting as it is far-fetched, actually plays on some very relevant topics: prejudice, life, death, love, perseverance, friendship. And, victoriously, it boasts a happy ending. We all know how I love those.
BOTTOM LINE: Even if you don't feel so much in the "young" portion of the young adult category, give this book a chance. It tackles some heavy, present-day topics while giving us a hero to root for.

Not Lost Forever by Carmina Salcido

Oh my. So ridiculously behind in writing about what I've been reading. I'll just jump in here then....
I struggle with appropriate adjectives to describe how this book affected me. "Heart-wrenching" and "haunting" are at the top of the list though. This true story spans the author's life from birth to present day. She recounts the horror that marked her at the innocent age of three by a murderous father and changed, rather drastically, the course of her life. There were many times when I had to put down this book just to have a good cry. And so far this "review" is probably not compelling you to read the book is it? I will say that I finished it in about two days simply because I had to keep moving through the tragedy to get to the other side. It is truly amazing what Carmina Salcido endured, and the fact that she is the functioning young woman she is today is nothing short of a miracle.
BOTTOM LINE: If this was a work of fiction I probably wouldn't have read it through to the end. But the fact that Ms. Salcido, through no choice of her own, lived through these events led me to believe that I needed to see the book through to the end so that her voice could be heard and her story shared.

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

See here .

The Shack by William P. Young

It feels beyond my amateur writing ability to summarize this book and put into words what it means to me. It is a story of great loss and sorrow, yet also a story of redemption and love beyond what we truly are able to comprehend with our limited human capacities.
I had painted for me by Mr. Young a picture of the type of relationship I believe God yearns to have with us. I saw myself reflected in Mack, the main character in this book, time and time again. While I have not yet, thankfully, had to grapple with my own Great Sadness (to the degree that he has), I have seen enough of it in the lives of those I love and in the world at large that I have asked many of the same questions Mack did. Basically, why all the suffering, Lord? Why all the rotten, dirty evil that stinks up this earth? And where are You in the midst of it? How Young wrestles with the answers to these through the story is incredibly powerful, and while I recognize this is all constructed out of his imagination, essentially, it nontheless transformed my view of the God I thought I had been serving all these years and truly shaped my view of him into that of a LOVING Father.

BOTTOM LINE: I would go so far as to say life-changing. This blew the lid off the box I have so carefully constructed for God to fit in.

WARNING: The beginning 1/4 of the book is, at times, difficult to read (especially for those of you who are parents) BUT - totally worth it.

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Young adult fiction alert! I'm not normally big into this, but this book caught my eye at the library. As usual, I'm glad I took a chance on the unfamiliar. The story centers on Amal, an Australian-Palestinian teenager living in Melbourne, Australia and her decision to begin wearing the hijab (Muslim head-scarf) full time. The fallout of this decision is surprising and far-reaching and not without some of your "typical" teenage insecurity - but brought to a whole new level. I don't want to make light though of the issues that Amal wrestles with and how these experiences strengthen her identity: as an Australian, a Muslim, and as a teenage girl. Add into the mix the events of our world that center on the Middle East, and you add in a whole extra dynamic as well.
BOTTOM LINE: Ms. Abdel-Fattah tackles the issues of religion/culture/prejudice/teenager-hood in a light-hearted and at the same time very real way. It was a book that made me laugh AND think deeply.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Set in World War II, The Guernsey Literary etc. etc. (it's an astonishingly long title, truly) recounts, in its own brilliant way, the German occupation of the Channel Islands to the south of Great Britain. I loved everything about this book: the style of the authors' writing (their "voice", if you will), the detail that was used to craft this story out of history (there's that historical fiction again), the way the story is told (as letters written between the characters), and the characters themselves. Oh my, but did I love the characters. I honestly came to love each one of them as if they were real people that I had met. I had half a mind to hop the next boat to Guernsey and settle among them (and that's the other thing this book does: gives one a hankering for island living). With mounting dread I watched the pages left in the book dwindle, almost daring to read no further as I did not want the story to end. Yet I had to know what happened next. The brilliance of this story is that it is told in a series of letters written between the various characters, and I never once felt that I was missing anything because of this. I knew exactly what each person was doing, thinking, feeling via their correspondance.
BOTTOM LINE: Gone to Guernsey to find my friends.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

I heard lots of great hype about this movie when it recently hit theaters and didn't even realize it was first a book. Some literary type I am, huh? So when I stumbled across it in the New Books section at the library I immediately snatched it up. Books and food are two of my VERY favorite things. I figured I could not go wrong with the two combined. And I was not disappointed - the author married the two scrumptiously. (Ouch, that one hurt, didn't it?)
Let me start by saying that as far as descriptive and hilarious writing goes, I have almost never read a better book. In fact, none come to mind (but that's not saying much as I have a pretty terrible memory at the moment - 3 kids, no sleep, and all that). I knew I was going to enjoy her writing style when, within the first three pages, she used a phrase like "word salad". Her descriptions of her year-long journey with Julia Child to "master the art of French cooking", as well as her mental state throughout said year, are very honestly and straightforwardly written. As a former language arts teacher who taught the traits of writing, may I just say that this memoir is a primo example of "voice". Ok, there, I said it. What I mean by that is the author's personality and character come through strongly in her writing. Ok, on to the
BOTTOM LINE: While I could have done without most (nay, ALL) of the hundreds of F-bombs and misuse of God's name in this book, I more often than not was laughing OUT LOUD. And since it's January, and the winter doldrums are fully enveloping me, I think I can ignore the language this time.