Child of the River

by Irma Joubert
Hennepin County Library paperback 388 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction

*Atypical review! Filled with spoilers and my own strange notations. I don't feel like blogging at all, but I want to return this book to the library! *

Overall reaction - loved the author's writing style, but was distressed by the story itself. Book club discussion was frustrating - half the table hadn't read the book and just chatted (I would have enjoyed that!) and the other half had read it but we had such different opinions and some of them bordered on political / social . . .

South Africa, mid-1930s through the 1960s. Apartheid rising. Afrikaaners.

Page 107 - I had already suspected, but "knew" that Mr. Fourie was Persomi's dad when I read this.

"Mr. Fourie?" Persomi called.
He stopped and turned, his face a thundercloud.
She looked him in the eye. "Thank you, Mr. Fourie," she said. "You're good to us, even if we can't help you on the farm anymore."
He looked at her steadily.
"Thank you," she said again.
"It's okay," he said and turned to go.
But for a moment, just before he turned his back on her, she thought she saw a strange expression in his eyes.

Page 117 - I loved Beth's witness to Persomi. "Whether you pray or not, He is in control," Beth said. "He will always be there for you." Beth was only a temporary figure, but she helped develop Persomi's narrative.

Page 143 - so sad! "She had prayed, every night during quiet time. Only in the vacation she had sometimes forgotten. God hadn't heard. No God of love would have taken Gerbrand. It couldn't be true."

Page 191 - I enjoyed Persomi's friendship with Renier and kept waiting for it to become more! This page was rich with the teasing of their relationship.

Page 203 - Persomi and Boelie arguing about South Africa and the changing laws . . . again. "For goodness' sake, Persomi, this is not their country! They're visitors, laborers. India is their fatherland! They should go back there." Ugh! I could hear the Donald Trump "America First!" rhetoric all over this! When I mentioned that comparison during book club (knowing I should have kept my mouth shut), I got one of those knowing looks indicating I was so very wrong. How did the people from the Netherlands get to decide that South Africa was *their* country and they had more right to it than the native Africans or the Indians who had come generations earlier? Ugh! How does being white and rich make you more right than everyone else?! This aspect of the book made me want to scream! (I was so very, very glad that Persomi was such an incredible woman.)

Page 255 - Tender beautiful scene between Persomi and Boelie. Kiss, darn it!

Page 272 - Painful! She is completely in love with Boelie but breaks up with him because she believes he is her brother BUT she doesn't tell him the real reason! They're both miserable and heart-broken! Tell the truth! Listen to your heart!

Page 288 - *After* Boelie's wedding to Annabel, Mr. De Vos tells Persomi he doesn't want her to spend any more time with Renier . . . because Mr. De Vos is her dad. Bombshell!!!

Page 293 - "It took hours of research and reading to keep track of the proliferating laws of the new government's apartheid policy." Again, this made me think of Trump and his attempts to remake our country into what he wants it to be . . . scary.

Page 309 - The moment when Persomi finally tells Boelie the truth. "I believed you were my brother." Oh my. This scene was powerfully written.

Page 375 - "In the end it wasn't the town council or the government who hurt my grandfather today - more than he had ever been hurt before, including when my eldest brother died. It was me. I think that's what saddens me most, Persomi." So sad! Poor Yusuf!

The Bronze Key (Magesterium bk 3)

by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
PRMS hardcover 249 pages
genre: YA fantasy

I didn't like this one as well as the first two. I don't want to give any spoilers, but the scene at the end was disappointing (and of course, now I have to read the next book to see . . . )

Alex Strike
Anastasia Tarquin
romance
spy
betrayal

The summer experience for Aaron staying with Call and his dad was such a contrast with the previous summer when Aaron stayed with Tamara.

The scene where the kids talk to the elementals raised more questions than ever. I'll probably keep reading this series, but I did not enjoy this venture quite as much.

The Copper Gauntlet

by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
PRMS hardcover 284 pages
genre: YA fantasy,  magic

Callum assumes the worst when he and his father have a falling out. Call, Aaron, Tamara, and Havoc go out on a self-determined mission but gain Jasper as an unlikely member of their team. Call's ability to communicate with the Chaos-filled humans both scares him and empowers him. A quick, rollicking adventure with a happy ending and notes of caution for what will come next.

The Iron Trial

by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Carver County Library paperback 295 pages
genre: YA fantasy, magic

I enjoyed this far more than I anticipated! Neither of these authors are ones I especially like and the cover looks creepy, but I was pleasantly surprised. Callum "Call" Hunt has grown up with a damaged leg, a pronounced lip, and a sassy mouth. His mother died when he was just an infant and his father has always bad-mouthed the mages and the Magesterium. But when Call is summoned to the Iron Trial and strives to fail the tests, he is accepted by Master Rufus, the same man who trained his parents in the use of magic.

Lots of adventure, mystery, and some lovely coming-of-age moments. Tamara, Aaron, Jasper, Celia, and of course the evil minions and Chaos-ridden creatures all make this an intriguing story. I read book two last night and will have book three done before I go back to school on Monday. When my book club meets to discuss this title, I'll be ready to recommend the rest of the series!

Leaving Glorytown: One Boy's Struggle Under Castro

by Eduardo F. Calcines
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction memoir, history

Wow! This was so good I'm thinking of buying a personal copy. Calcines tells his personal story from childhood memories prior to the revolution through leaving Cuba at age 14. Powerful, personal narrative from a boy whose family didn't buy in to Castro's revolution. I want to share this with my sister Ann, who visited Cuba in December. I want to share it with Louie's Aunt Cathy and ask her about leaving Cuba. I want to contact the author and thank him for writing this. It's that good!

I will need to see if I can find other things he's written. One of my favorite parts is when his aunt sends a stick of gum from America and he gives half to his little sister who has never tasted gum, then splits the other half with his buddies. It was painful to hear his descriptions of how some of his teachers belittled and ridiculed him for being from a family of dissenters. I loved this book!

From Amazon.com:

Eduardo F. Calcines was a child of Fidel Castro's Cuba; he was just three years old when Castro came to power in January 1959. After that, everything changed for his family and his country. When he was ten, his family applied for an exit visa to emigrate to America and he was ridiculed by his schoolmates and even his teachers for being a traitor to his country. But even worse, his father was sent to an agricultural reform camp to do hard labor as punishment for daring to want to leave Cuba. During the years to come, as he grew up in Glorytown, a neighborhood in the city of Cienfuegos, Eduardo hoped with all his might that their exit visa would be granted before he turned fifteen, the age at which he would be drafted into the army.
In this absorbing memoir, by turns humorous and heartbreaking, Eduardo Calcines recounts his boyhood and chronicles the conditions that led him to wish above all else to leave behind his beloved extended family and his home for a chance at a better future.



I bought the audiobook a while back and shared it with a few people. I re-listened recently and have these notes to add:

• 6110 San Carlos Street in Cienfuegos, Cuba, does not look like his grandparents' home . . . but online maps of Cuba do not have excellent detail. I couldn't find the Hawa(?) Movie House.
• It looks as though he's also written children's books (Rooftop Clubhouse) and is at work on a sequel to this. Titled  The Salmon Run, it will deal with his coming of age in America story. I look forward to reading it!
• I would love to find out if he has been able to return to Cuba for a visit.
• His wife's name is Mercy. I love that!
• He is a Christian. I love that even more! It makes me think of the impact his abuelo had on him.

 

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

by Malcolm Gladwell
Hennepin County Library audiobook 10 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction, journalism

Overall impressions:
Gladwell is freakishly smart. Erudite, even. Yet his writing is accessible. My favorite section / "article" so far is the one on Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer). Some of these I've half-listened to as my attention wandered. This is one blog entry NOT worth reading. But since I jotted bazillions of notes (yeah, while driving in my car . . . ), I'm going to record my thoughts here. I'm not going to bother looking up correct spellings, etc. . . . Okay, my notes were a mess, so I went online to find the table of contents (at https://library.villanova.edu/Find/Record/1457806/TOC). I'll add my notes after the official headings . . .

Table of Contents: 

 
Pt. 1: Obsessives, pioneers, and other varieties of minor genius

• The pitchman : Ron Popeil and the conquest of the American kitchen -
  Ron Popeil, pitchman / Ronco inventions. Ron's dad SJ - piece of work! No love. QVC standing ovation. Fascinating. I'd never heard of this guy before, but after listening to this, someone was talking about his untimely death in a plane crash within the last few years . . . 
• The ketchup conundrum : mustard now comes in dozens of different varieties why has ketchup stayed the same? - Ketchup / French's mustard - Grey Poupon story (I remember the ad with the limousine! Hate the stuff, though.) Jim Wiggin / Muscowitz. Ketchup is ketchup. Different flavors, marketing, etc.
• Blowing up : how Nassim Taleb turned the inevitability of disaster into an investment strategy- Blowing Up / Nassir(?) Teleb (?) Victor Niederhofer financial manager / George Souros . . . this one really didn't connect for me. The stock market and making money are not my interest area.
• True colors : hair dye and the hidden history of postwar America- True Colors: Hair Dye and the Hidden History of Post-War America. Shirley Polokoff / George Halperin "Does She or Doesn't She?" campaign. useful fiction. Elon Specht "Because I'm Worth It" L'Oreal. Interesting - women in advertising (products primarily for women!)
• John Rock's error : what the inventor of the birth control pill didn't know about women's health- John Rock - birth control pills / "natural" 28-day cycle / religion important to him (Catholic).
• What the dog saw : Cesar Millan and the movements of mastery- What the Dog Saw - Cesar Milan / calm. Love is work, discipline, reward. Dog Whisperer has presence - posture / facial expressions. "I want more of this!" (Me - perhaps I need to find one of Milan's books. Though Gladwell's observations and understanding of Milan as a human being who relates better to dogs were fascinating in themselves.)

Pt. 2: Theories, predictions and diagnoses - Part Two - Mysteries and Puzzles (I don't know what part one was called.)

• Open secrets : Enron, intelligence and the perils of too much information- Enron - Theories, Predictions, and ??? / Skilling - reporting, truth, comparison to Nazi propaganda / "I hate financial crap / the stock market / etc."
• Million dollar Murray : why problems like homelessness may be easier to solve than to manage - Million Dollar Murray - "Power Law" / homelessness / LAPD 44 "bad" cops / not a normal distribution / helping the small percentage who are chronic police, ER problems . . . right wing doesn't want to help people who don't "deserve" it, even though it would pay off in less $$$ spent on that population. left wing doesn't want to help them because it's "not fair" to others in need. Very thought-provoking!
• The picture problem : mammography, air power, and the limits of looking-
  A Picture Problem: Mammography, Air Power, and the Limits of Looking - scud missiles, Zapruder film, seeing photos as "truth" without understanding importance of interpretation
• Something borrowed : should a charge of plagiarism ruin your life?- Something Borrowed: Should Plagiarism Be Able to Ruin Your Life? - this one was quite thought-provoking. Intellectual property / private vs. public interests. I'm not sure I agree with his conclusions, but it was very eye-opening. The music examples were very interesting!  Enhancement vs. derivative works
• Connecting the dots : the paradoxes of intelligence reform- Connecting the Dots: The Paradoxes of Intelligence Reform. Retrospective makes a difference! "creeping determinism" / very interesting material . . . and insights on humans and perceptions
• The art of failure : why some people choke and others panic- The Art of Failure: Why Some People Choke and Others Panic. Choke = thinking too much, losing flow and skill. Panic = not thinking, just blindly reacting. Tennis e.g., scuba diving, gold
• Blowup : who can be blamed for a disaster like the Challenger explosion? No one, and we'd better get used to it - Blowup: Who Can be Blamed for Challenger Disaster - risk / homeostasis /

Pt. 3: Personality, character and intelligence - Part Three - Personality, Character, and Intelligence

• Late bloomers : why do we equate genius with precocity?- Late Bloomers - ??? Fountain - writer guy / creativity and youth / Cezanne stories . . . I'm not sure where this article is going. Perhaps I'm just not paying close enough attention? Patrons / success depending on others around you . . .
• Most likely to succeed : how do we hire when we can't tell who's right for the job.- football story / Dan Shonka . . . / how we *think* someone will perform vs. how they actually do / education example - standardized test scores and how student scores reflect on teaching quality / Measurable difference between poor teachers and excellent teachers in terms of student learning / Wunderlich scores . . . football players. What? / Prediction problems. / education reform efforts / focus on elements of effective teachers / classroom management / financial advisors
• Dangerous minds : criminal profiling made easy/ profiling made profilers / psychology / inaccuracies, low rate
• The talent myth : are smart people overrated?/ Enron example (high IQs and high job performance NOT highly correlated / "stars" / The Dark Side of Charisma / Carol Dweck and mindset / Navy looking for U-boats during WWII
• The New-Boy Network : what do job interviews really tell us? Nolan Meyers / Houston performing arts / extraordinary. why? Teaching non-verbals
• Troublemakers : what pit bulls can teach us about crime. / Guy Clareau picking up 2 year old Jaden from day care / Ottawa?

The Testing

by J Charbonneau
genre: dystopian

I started this entry on 11/something/2016 . . . so I think it's time to publish even though it's just some random notes.

Numbers . . . bugged me!
- 8 "grads" from Dixon out of a population of 15,000
- 4 "grads" from Five Lakes out of a population of fewer than 1,000?
- how many colonies are there total?
- 108 total chosen for testing, but only 20 will pass and make it into university (88 bright, capable young people will . . . die? That doesn't make sense!)
- 108 at first, then 87 left after first round testing, then 59 left after team testing, then down to 29 plus 5 after the fourth test (survival cross country)
-again . . . why the waste of human potential?

Home Again

by Kristin Hannah
loaned to me by M. Wegner paperback 393 pages
genre: mostly realistic, relationships

Madelaine Hillyard - her mom died when she was six, her dad was a cruel, controlling, belittling man (and rich, too), she got pregnant at age 16, her boyfriend left, she was a single mom who worked her way through med school and become a cardiologist

Angel DeMarco - was the bad boy who got her pregnant and took off when he was 17, always fought with his "perfect" brother and tried to win his alcoholic, abusive mother's love. Became a superstar actor who went through women, drugs, and alcohol like a fish through water. Until his heart condition became critical.

Francis DeMarco - a priest, always there for Maddy and her daughter Lina. Lonely, in love with Madelaine but even more in love with God. Striving to do the right thing.

Lina Hillyard - rebelling against her "perfect" mom and wanting to know who her father is. Angry girl testing boundaries (which her mother struggles to put in place).

It wasn't really a wonderful book, yet I couldn't put it down. I wouldn't call it Christian fiction - it didn't have a strong reliance on Scripture or a gospel message. But it wasn't just a tawdry book about people getting whatever they want, either. I don't want to put any spoilers here, but it wasn't shocking how the story turned out. I would read other books by her, but they're not going to be top of my list.

The Infinite Sea

by Rick Yancey
PRMS paperback 300 pages
genre: YA dystopian fiction

"The second book of The 5th Wave" picks up with the child soldiers and Cassie holed up in a ratty hotel, getting colder and hungrier with each day. There's no sign of Evan and Ben is still healing from injuries, so Ringer heads off to see if they can shelter in "the Caverns" nearby. Sadly, Teacup follows her . . . the suffering, doubt, and killing are slightly less intense in this book, but this dystopian future is pretty depressing.

We gain a new character in Grace, who is "enhanced" like Evan. We also get to know "Razor," another kid soldier. This story bounces around to different perspectives - Ringer, Cassie, Ben, and even Poundcake. I will have to read book three to see how it all ends. Things look pretty bleak for humanity, though.

Work from Home: Flex Your Time, Improve Your Life

by Diana Fitzpatrick & Stephen Fishman
Hennepin County Library 3 discs
read by ?
genre: non-fiction

I skipped over a LOT of this. The first part was about convincing your current employer to let you work from home, at least part-time. That won't work for a middle school teacher!

Published prior to 2009(?), some of it is just too out-dated, yet I found some of the tips and concepts to still be relevant.

Become an expert - ask.com or justanswer.com - I could see me doing that.

Consider goals - money, benefits (insurance, retirement investment), change of pace, etc.

What are my strengths? Can I freelance with those?

Rat race rebellion - check out their website, if they still exist.

Ugh! I don't want a phone job! Ever!

Still Life

by Louise Penny
Hennepin County Library audiobook 8 discs
read by Ralph Cosham
genre: murder mystery

I really like this author's work! The narrator does a fantastic job and the characters are so interesting. I didn't guess the murderer in advance . . . but then, the author disguises motivations well. These notes are from scraps of paper in my car (written while driving . . . not a good idea, I know.)

Diogenes / lamp reference - I love this!

Book starts with Jane's murder, then goes back to Fair Day and the gathering of Jane's friends.

". . . Every parent of a teenage boy fears they're housing a stranger."

Matthew 10:36 referenced often, but only stated in full at the end. "A man's enemies will be the members of his own household."

Myrna talking about client who complains ad nauseam but wouldn't make changes she suggested. She realized he didn't *want* to change! Reminded me of my dad complaining - so frustrating until I realized it was his hobby.

Philippe - parents, behaviors, . . . unreal! (The final reveal on his reasons for becoming such a withdrawn and sullen teenager didn't fit well with my experience, but at least it was finally explained.)

Scene with Clara Morrow calling Solange with her baby - LOL!

The "reveal" in Jane's living room made me smile. Very interesting part of the book.

Clara finally standing up to Yolanda! Woohoo! About time, girl.

Deeper meanings! Yolanda and queen of hearts. Nicole and Ruth's mirror - "You're looking at the problem." Nicole NOT getting it. This author has some great ideas and relates them well. Inspector Gamache is a wonderful main character.