BIBLIOGRAPHY
Perkins, Lynne Rae. 2005. CRISS CROSS. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060092726
SUMMARY
"Teenagers in a small town experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I wanted to think about CRISS CROSS for a few days before I wrote the review, because although I enjoyed reading it, at the end I was somewhat underwhelmed. I kept flipping to the front cover and thinking, "a Newberry, huh?" and wondering what they saw in it that I didn't.
I'm glad I waited because the longer I sat with it, the more I began to appreciate Perkins work for the stand-out piece of wonderful writing that it is. It doesn't have a strong narrative, since it is basically a collection of impressions and moments in the lives of these interconnected young adults, but the poignancy, tone and insight of the writing are spectacular. It was such a pleasure to read someone writing with this level of craft and skill for a Young Adult audience.
The characters, as well, are all completely believable teenagers, but more than that, they're all likable as well. There's no villain, and even Dan, the least sympathetic character, has moments of likability. I thought Hector was particularly loveable, and I wished several times that I could invite him over for some cookies and milk. A trap I fell into when reading the book was mistaking angst and pathos for depth. Lenny's relationship with his father is so wonderful to read about -- in the chaper, "The Fable of Lenny," we see that Lenny's life could so easily have taken a different track, and it is also easy to see that Lenny -enjoys- his life, and looks up to his father. The complicated swirls of emotions and decisions around these issues are not layed out by Perkins one by one. We see Lenny, in a poingnant moment, realize that his childhood friends do not see any adult glamour in "chew," and that his life is headed in a different direction. We also see Lenny embrace that life, as an affable, pleasant young man helping his dad around the house. As a reader, you can feel Lenny's father's quiet pride in his son. Perkins' characterizations are masterful.
Perkins' playful light tone throughout the novel does not detract from her ability to craft intense and authentic scenes, such as the one between Debbie and her mother on page 280. This scene felt real to me as a reader 10 or 15 years after I've had any interactions like this with my own mom. As a teenager, it would have felt spoken directly to me: "So often in books, or in movies, one character looks at another and understands in a precise way what that person is feeling. So often in real life, one person wants to be understood, but obscures her feelings with completely unrelated words and facial expressions, while the other person is trying to remember whether she did or didn't turn off the burner under the hard-boiled eggs" (281). That is a universal adolescent experience- longing to connect and to be understood, but missing that connection, through chance or shyness, or as in Debbie's case, semi-intentional misdirection. Perkins turns the scene then, and gives the reader a heartbreaking insight into the character of Debbie's mom, before ending with the main theme of the novel: "Her mother had no way of knowing that this would have been a good time to tell her daughter that she had once known a boy who went away...they might have talked then about how that felt, and what you did next. But their secrets inadvertantly sidestepped each other, unaware, like blindfolded elephants crossing the tiny room" (281).
The moments of mysticism and magical realism (Dan's donkey-hood) spread throughout the story are delightful and so representative of being that age. Overall I think this is a wonderful book, but I'm not sure I would have had the patience for the vignette style as a young adult. But of course, at that age I read poetry, so who knows? CRISS CROSS is probably not the easiest book for everyone to engage with though.
REVIEWS
"The author of the popular All Alone in the Universe (HarperCollins, 1999) returns with another character study involving those moments that occur in everyone's life–moments when a decision is made that sends a person along one path instead of another. Debbie, who wishes that something would happen so she'll be a different person, and Hector, who feels he is unfinished, narrate most of the novel. Both are 14 years old. Hector is a fabulous character with a wry humor and an appealing sense of self-awareness. A secondary story involving Debbie's locket that goes missing in the beginning of the tale and is passed around by a number of characters emphasizes the theme of the book. The descriptive, measured writing includes poems, prose, haiku, and question-and-answer formats. There is a great deal of humor in this gentle story about a group of childhood friends facing the crossroads of life and how they wish to live it." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"This lyrical sequel to All Alone in the Universe (1999), a Booklist Editor's Choice, begins with one of many black-and-white drawings and a caption that reads, "People move back and forth in this area like molecules in steam." As the title and caption imply, this story reads like a series of intersecting vignettes--all focused on 14-year-old Debbie and her friends as they leave childhood behind. Perkins writes with subtle, wry humor about perceptive moments that will speak directly to readers: universe-expanding crushes, which fill the world with "signs and wonder"; scornful reappraisals of childhood things (Debbie's disdain for Nancy Drew is particularly funny); urgent concerns about outfits, snappy retorts, and self-image. Perkins adds many experimental passages to her straightforward narrative, and she finds poetry in the common exchanges between teens." BOOKLIST
CONNECTIONS
I enjoyed this book, but it took me a while to get through, which is one reason why I don't think it's a great idea for a read aloud. There's not much tension- it feels like a summer afternoon. That tone throughout the writing, as well as the mixed media works and illustrations throughout the book are also part of its strength. As an assignened book for class reading, CRISS CROSS works well. It can be read on many levels, and students who are interested in literature will have fun picking out themes of adolescent development and connections (the necklace, the bugs...) while other students will enjoy some of the overtly humorous scenes dealing with Dan's potential transformation into a donkey. It's not a a difficult book to read, but not all students will find it easy to engage with either, so I think it will work with guided reading.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Kit's Wilderness
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Almond, David. KIT'S WILDERNESS. 1999. New York, NY: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385326653
SUMMARY
"Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I found KIT'S WILDERNESS to be a pretty distrubing read. That may just be due to pregnancy hormones, but the dark moodiness and haunting writing did not work for me right now. I had to put it down several times to keep from being drawn in and freaked out -- which probably speaks more to Almond's considerable abilities as a lyrical writer than to my abilities as a reviewer, but oh well. I didn't like it.
The character development was strong throughout, and although John Askew is intended to be enigmatic in the beginning, the force of his (creepy) personality came through. I usually have a lot more patience for the wounded loner character, but I was much more interested in Kit's relationship with his grandfather. The way it built and the inevitable end were both handled very well and with great depth of feeling. One of the main themes of the novel is continuity through generations within families and towns, and this theme was explored most beautifully through Kit's relationship with his grandfather.
Another main theme of course is redemption and rebirth- there are elements of this throughout the story but most obviously in Askew's game of death. Kit and the others "play" death and then, unlike the ghost children from the mines' past, they get to walk out of the mines, "out of the ancient darkness into the shining valley" (3). I found the paranormal aspects of the story, the blending of Kit's reality in Stoneygate with the past of the mines, and the children who died there, to be the most disturbing part for me. Once the ghost children began to permeate Kit's waking life, from Silky to the nameless others, I was willfully trying to disconnect. Almond was successful in creating a dark and moving tale, but it certainly won't go on my favorites shelf.
REVIEWS
"Revisiting many of the themes from Skellig, Almond offers another tantalizing blend of human drama, surrealism and allegory. He opens the novel with a triumphant scene, in which Kit Watson, the 13-year-old narrator, and his classmates, John Askew and Allie Keenan reemerge from "ancient darkness into a shining valley," as if to reassure readers throughout the course of the cryptic tale that the game of "Death," so central to the book, is indeed just a game. Nevertheless, he takes readers on a thrilling and spine-tingling ride." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"This haunting, lyrical novel by David Almond (Delacorte, 2000) will appeal to teachers because of the beauty of its language and its manipulation of themes. The supernatural elements and gripping story will engage students... The story deals with the eerie influence of the past, from the recently defunct mining industry in Kit's ancestral hometown, to the beginning of humankind. It also focuses on the necessity of the arts, particularly the art of storytelling, to the emotional well-being and even survival of those sensitive to the rhythms of the world and the ripples of time. The hook, both for Kit and for the readers, is the game called Death played in an abandoned mine shaft by a group of misfits at Kit's new school." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
I'm at a loss as to how to use this novel. A history of british mining law reform? Au unit on child labor? Really it only works as literature, and I wouldn't want to teach it to the whole class. It's a good book review prospect, and I'm sure it would really connect with a segment of the student population in any jr. high school.
Almond, David. KIT'S WILDERNESS. 1999. New York, NY: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385326653
SUMMARY
"Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I found KIT'S WILDERNESS to be a pretty distrubing read. That may just be due to pregnancy hormones, but the dark moodiness and haunting writing did not work for me right now. I had to put it down several times to keep from being drawn in and freaked out -- which probably speaks more to Almond's considerable abilities as a lyrical writer than to my abilities as a reviewer, but oh well. I didn't like it.
The character development was strong throughout, and although John Askew is intended to be enigmatic in the beginning, the force of his (creepy) personality came through. I usually have a lot more patience for the wounded loner character, but I was much more interested in Kit's relationship with his grandfather. The way it built and the inevitable end were both handled very well and with great depth of feeling. One of the main themes of the novel is continuity through generations within families and towns, and this theme was explored most beautifully through Kit's relationship with his grandfather.
Another main theme of course is redemption and rebirth- there are elements of this throughout the story but most obviously in Askew's game of death. Kit and the others "play" death and then, unlike the ghost children from the mines' past, they get to walk out of the mines, "out of the ancient darkness into the shining valley" (3). I found the paranormal aspects of the story, the blending of Kit's reality in Stoneygate with the past of the mines, and the children who died there, to be the most disturbing part for me. Once the ghost children began to permeate Kit's waking life, from Silky to the nameless others, I was willfully trying to disconnect. Almond was successful in creating a dark and moving tale, but it certainly won't go on my favorites shelf.
REVIEWS
"Revisiting many of the themes from Skellig, Almond offers another tantalizing blend of human drama, surrealism and allegory. He opens the novel with a triumphant scene, in which Kit Watson, the 13-year-old narrator, and his classmates, John Askew and Allie Keenan reemerge from "ancient darkness into a shining valley," as if to reassure readers throughout the course of the cryptic tale that the game of "Death," so central to the book, is indeed just a game. Nevertheless, he takes readers on a thrilling and spine-tingling ride." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"This haunting, lyrical novel by David Almond (Delacorte, 2000) will appeal to teachers because of the beauty of its language and its manipulation of themes. The supernatural elements and gripping story will engage students... The story deals with the eerie influence of the past, from the recently defunct mining industry in Kit's ancestral hometown, to the beginning of humankind. It also focuses on the necessity of the arts, particularly the art of storytelling, to the emotional well-being and even survival of those sensitive to the rhythms of the world and the ripples of time. The hook, both for Kit and for the readers, is the game called Death played in an abandoned mine shaft by a group of misfits at Kit's new school." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
I'm at a loss as to how to use this novel. A history of british mining law reform? Au unit on child labor? Really it only works as literature, and I wouldn't want to teach it to the whole class. It's a good book review prospect, and I'm sure it would really connect with a segment of the student population in any jr. high school.
Friday, April 20, 2007
The Giver
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1993. THE GIVER. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395645662
SUMMARY
"Given his lifetime assigment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about society in which he lives." (CIP).
ANALYSIS
"I want to wake up in the morning and decide things.
It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?" (97).
Even though I read THE GIVER as a teenager, I chose to read it again for this assignment, and I really enjoyed the second reading. Lowry uses a science fiction context to tackle so many issues in this book that are central to the Young Adult experience. Most twelve year olds reading this book will have felt moments, like Jonas during his training, of deep isolation from their peers. They will yearn for independence, like Jonas, and at the same time, mourn the loss of their idylic childhoods: "his childhood, his friendships, his carefree sense of security -- all of these things seemed to be slipping away" (135).
Lowry's fantastic context allows readers to explore these feelings with a different perspective. Lowry also addresses the major change in perspective that comes as children move closer to becoming adults. Jonas experiences flashes of "seeing beyond," seeing something he has always seen, but suddenly realizing it has dimensions he never expected. For Jonas, it is an apple, on page 23, or the faces in the audience at the Ceremony of Twelve. For students it might be a new insight on adult relationships, or family dynamics, or even simply watching a movie they've seen a thousand times but finally understanding the dirty jokes.
Lowry also deals with the overwhelming power of adolescent emotions. The calm ordered environment of Jonas' village may seem like a refuge to students in the midst of Yound Adulthood. Jonas realizes that though his parents and sister describe emotions of "anger" and "sadness" they have never really felt these things. Jonas' isolation in being able to deeply feel is teenagey angst perfectly translated into science fiction. Jonas -is- totally alone He is forbidden from sharing his training, forbidden from taking the same drugs as the rest of the community and told to lie and be rude as well. He is set apart from his community in a way that many young adults feel set apart, and seeing the concrete manifestation of inner turmoil can make for powerful reading.
In addition, Lowry's world shares many similarites with the world of modern day jr. high and high school, where "Sameness" is certainly a governing principle. In Jonas' community, differences are drummed out through genetic engineering, drug regimens and enforced civility (84). Dress codes and cliques do the job in high school. Lowry's imagery is remarkably relatable to her audience.
The way Lowry sets up the world of THE GIVER is masterful. There are no massive infodumps, which are a challenge to avoid in fantasy or science fiction. Instead she weaves her worldbuilding seamlessly throughout conversations and character interactions. A few chapters into the book, the reader already has an understanding of the complex system of inflexible rules and regulations that govern every aspect of life in the village. Jonas mentions the tome of rules his parents keep on a shelf in the kitchen, and throughout the story there are moments like this: "All of them talking at once, hasitly making the required apology for interrupting, then forgetting again... (89). Lowry's spare but detail packed writing allows her to insert a world building detail, like the bizarrely enforced civility of the "required apology" into an action packed scene which is moving the narrative forward. She doesn't stop the action to provide background, but the reader understands within the context.
I only have a few problems with the book, and one of them is the potential depth of in-class discussions. Lowry does not shy away from difficult concepts- "releasing," for instance, will surely spark classroom debates.
"They prepared to shoot it down" (112). This may be nitpicky, but how can the concept of warfare be so totally alien to Jonas, and yet he's aware that his village has complicated weaponry and heat seeking planes? It seems inconsistent. Also, it was difficult to understand whether there is a deliberate strategy of misinformation from adults to children about "releasing." When Jonas asks about Roberto's release at the House of the Old, the answers are misleading. Do all adults know what "releasing" entails? When do children learn? It's just a nitpick, and Lowry needed the tension of the mystery in order for the reader to feel Jonas' revulsion at the final discovery, but it felt inconsistent as well.
Overall, the pacing in the story is excellent, and drives the narrative to its inevitable conclusion with Jonas's escape, but the end feels abrupt and ambiguious. Perhaps Jonas finds a true home, or perhaps he moves into one last memory, moments before freezing to death. Either way, with all the time Lowry spent building the world and introducing the characters, I wanted at least one conclusive sentence for an epilogue.
There are many many more things right with this book than the one or two things I found challenging. I would love to recommend it to a student, or oneday to use it in a class.
REVIEWS
"Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
When I was looking at the reviews for this book online, I also found some study guides published for use with the book in the classroom.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1586091506/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9022747-1235943#reader-link
Lowry creates such a complete world in THE GIVER that I think reading guides such as this one, which pull the student out of narrative, are a misstep if the object is to encourage students to engage with the book and to foster a love of reading. Since this book speaks so specifically to personal issues of adolescent development, it works best outside of a structured classroom environment, with students choosing to read the book on their own. So perhaps offering it as an option; one of several books to choose from for book reports. Since the tale is so gripping and suspenseful at times, it would also work as a read aloud book for older grades. If the whole class does read the book, small group discussions about major themes would probably be more engaging than vocabulary exercises.
Lowry, Lois. 1993. THE GIVER. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395645662
SUMMARY
"Given his lifetime assigment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about society in which he lives." (CIP).
ANALYSIS
"I want to wake up in the morning and decide things.
It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?" (97).
Even though I read THE GIVER as a teenager, I chose to read it again for this assignment, and I really enjoyed the second reading. Lowry uses a science fiction context to tackle so many issues in this book that are central to the Young Adult experience. Most twelve year olds reading this book will have felt moments, like Jonas during his training, of deep isolation from their peers. They will yearn for independence, like Jonas, and at the same time, mourn the loss of their idylic childhoods: "his childhood, his friendships, his carefree sense of security -- all of these things seemed to be slipping away" (135).
Lowry's fantastic context allows readers to explore these feelings with a different perspective. Lowry also addresses the major change in perspective that comes as children move closer to becoming adults. Jonas experiences flashes of "seeing beyond," seeing something he has always seen, but suddenly realizing it has dimensions he never expected. For Jonas, it is an apple, on page 23, or the faces in the audience at the Ceremony of Twelve. For students it might be a new insight on adult relationships, or family dynamics, or even simply watching a movie they've seen a thousand times but finally understanding the dirty jokes.
Lowry also deals with the overwhelming power of adolescent emotions. The calm ordered environment of Jonas' village may seem like a refuge to students in the midst of Yound Adulthood. Jonas realizes that though his parents and sister describe emotions of "anger" and "sadness" they have never really felt these things. Jonas' isolation in being able to deeply feel is teenagey angst perfectly translated into science fiction. Jonas -is- totally alone He is forbidden from sharing his training, forbidden from taking the same drugs as the rest of the community and told to lie and be rude as well. He is set apart from his community in a way that many young adults feel set apart, and seeing the concrete manifestation of inner turmoil can make for powerful reading.
In addition, Lowry's world shares many similarites with the world of modern day jr. high and high school, where "Sameness" is certainly a governing principle. In Jonas' community, differences are drummed out through genetic engineering, drug regimens and enforced civility (84). Dress codes and cliques do the job in high school. Lowry's imagery is remarkably relatable to her audience.
The way Lowry sets up the world of THE GIVER is masterful. There are no massive infodumps, which are a challenge to avoid in fantasy or science fiction. Instead she weaves her worldbuilding seamlessly throughout conversations and character interactions. A few chapters into the book, the reader already has an understanding of the complex system of inflexible rules and regulations that govern every aspect of life in the village. Jonas mentions the tome of rules his parents keep on a shelf in the kitchen, and throughout the story there are moments like this: "All of them talking at once, hasitly making the required apology for interrupting, then forgetting again... (89). Lowry's spare but detail packed writing allows her to insert a world building detail, like the bizarrely enforced civility of the "required apology" into an action packed scene which is moving the narrative forward. She doesn't stop the action to provide background, but the reader understands within the context.
I only have a few problems with the book, and one of them is the potential depth of in-class discussions. Lowry does not shy away from difficult concepts- "releasing," for instance, will surely spark classroom debates.
"They prepared to shoot it down" (112). This may be nitpicky, but how can the concept of warfare be so totally alien to Jonas, and yet he's aware that his village has complicated weaponry and heat seeking planes? It seems inconsistent. Also, it was difficult to understand whether there is a deliberate strategy of misinformation from adults to children about "releasing." When Jonas asks about Roberto's release at the House of the Old, the answers are misleading. Do all adults know what "releasing" entails? When do children learn? It's just a nitpick, and Lowry needed the tension of the mystery in order for the reader to feel Jonas' revulsion at the final discovery, but it felt inconsistent as well.
Overall, the pacing in the story is excellent, and drives the narrative to its inevitable conclusion with Jonas's escape, but the end feels abrupt and ambiguious. Perhaps Jonas finds a true home, or perhaps he moves into one last memory, moments before freezing to death. Either way, with all the time Lowry spent building the world and introducing the characters, I wanted at least one conclusive sentence for an epilogue.
There are many many more things right with this book than the one or two things I found challenging. I would love to recommend it to a student, or oneday to use it in a class.
REVIEWS
"Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
When I was looking at the reviews for this book online, I also found some study guides published for use with the book in the classroom.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1586091506/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9022747-1235943#reader-link
Lowry creates such a complete world in THE GIVER that I think reading guides such as this one, which pull the student out of narrative, are a misstep if the object is to encourage students to engage with the book and to foster a love of reading. Since this book speaks so specifically to personal issues of adolescent development, it works best outside of a structured classroom environment, with students choosing to read the book on their own. So perhaps offering it as an option; one of several books to choose from for book reports. Since the tale is so gripping and suspenseful at times, it would also work as a read aloud book for older grades. If the whole class does read the book, small group discussions about major themes would probably be more engaging than vocabulary exercises.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Bud, Not Buddy
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. BUD, NOT BUDDY. New York, NY: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385323069
SUMMARY
"Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H. E. Calloway of Grand Rapids." (CIP)
ANALYSIS
This book is just such a great story that I found it very difficult to read analytically for review. I kept having to remind myself to try to look at the book from different perspectives, and pay attention to plot devices, historical details and characterization, but I was so caught up in the story that I had a hard time keeping notes.
Bud is from the first such an incredibly sympathetic and likable character that the reader is on his side immediately. He's a combination of no-nonsense self-sufficiency (with his lists and rules on how to survive) and heartbreaking vulnerabilities. Part of what makes Bud such an empathetic character is how he seems to so easily empathize with the people he comes into contact with. Even when speaking of his terrible foster family Bud has sympahty to spare, "I can't all the way blame Todd for giving me trouble, though. If I had a regular home with a mother and father I wouldn't be too happy about other kids living in my house either" (32).
Another thing from the reading experience that stands out is what an incredibly sensory book BUD, NOT BUDDY is. Bud describes entering the library early in the book "I got a whiff of the leather on all the old books, a smell that got real strong if you picked one of them up...then there was the smell of the cloth that covered brand -new books, the books that made a splitting sound when you opened them" (54).
Curtis does a good job with building suspense throughout the story. One example on a smaller scale is the scene in the Amoses house when Bud speaks of the family deserving "what they were going to get" and making the reader believe that Bud has some plans for the gun. Of course, Bud, the excellent role model, says, "these things [guns] were just too dangerous to play with or take chances with" (33). Speaking of good role models, the flat but helpful secondary character of the librarian is one of the nicest portrayals of a librarian I've seen in YA fiction.
Overall, this books works well even for an adult reader trying to read analytically. I underlined Bud's epiphany on page 172, but I also enjoyed the moment within the story. With BUD, NOT BUDDY Curtis gives a wonderful example of gripping, eangaging and historically accurate Young Adult Historical Fiction.
REVIEWS
"A 10-year-old boy in Depression-era Michigan sets out to find the man he believes to be his father. "While the harshness of Bud's circumstances are authentically depicted, Curtis imbues them with an aura of hope, and he makes readers laugh even when he sets up the most daunting scenarios." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that they won't mind." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
This book is perfectly suited to be a read-aloud book in the classroom. It would work wonderfully to supplement a unit on the Great Depression, or even Black History month, as one of a list of books for read and review, but the fast pace, humor and delightful characterizations make BUD a great choice for a classroom read. Although perhaps more immediately interesting to boys, girls will also find characters, and even traits in Bud, to empathize and identify with.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. BUD, NOT BUDDY. New York, NY: Delacourt Press. ISBN 0385323069
SUMMARY
"Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H. E. Calloway of Grand Rapids." (CIP)
ANALYSIS
This book is just such a great story that I found it very difficult to read analytically for review. I kept having to remind myself to try to look at the book from different perspectives, and pay attention to plot devices, historical details and characterization, but I was so caught up in the story that I had a hard time keeping notes.
Bud is from the first such an incredibly sympathetic and likable character that the reader is on his side immediately. He's a combination of no-nonsense self-sufficiency (with his lists and rules on how to survive) and heartbreaking vulnerabilities. Part of what makes Bud such an empathetic character is how he seems to so easily empathize with the people he comes into contact with. Even when speaking of his terrible foster family Bud has sympahty to spare, "I can't all the way blame Todd for giving me trouble, though. If I had a regular home with a mother and father I wouldn't be too happy about other kids living in my house either" (32).
Another thing from the reading experience that stands out is what an incredibly sensory book BUD, NOT BUDDY is. Bud describes entering the library early in the book "I got a whiff of the leather on all the old books, a smell that got real strong if you picked one of them up...then there was the smell of the cloth that covered brand -new books, the books that made a splitting sound when you opened them" (54).
Curtis does a good job with building suspense throughout the story. One example on a smaller scale is the scene in the Amoses house when Bud speaks of the family deserving "what they were going to get" and making the reader believe that Bud has some plans for the gun. Of course, Bud, the excellent role model, says, "these things [guns] were just too dangerous to play with or take chances with" (33). Speaking of good role models, the flat but helpful secondary character of the librarian is one of the nicest portrayals of a librarian I've seen in YA fiction.
Overall, this books works well even for an adult reader trying to read analytically. I underlined Bud's epiphany on page 172, but I also enjoyed the moment within the story. With BUD, NOT BUDDY Curtis gives a wonderful example of gripping, eangaging and historically accurate Young Adult Historical Fiction.
REVIEWS
"A 10-year-old boy in Depression-era Michigan sets out to find the man he believes to be his father. "While the harshness of Bud's circumstances are authentically depicted, Curtis imbues them with an aura of hope, and he makes readers laugh even when he sets up the most daunting scenarios." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that they won't mind." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
CONNECTIONS
This book is perfectly suited to be a read-aloud book in the classroom. It would work wonderfully to supplement a unit on the Great Depression, or even Black History month, as one of a list of books for read and review, but the fast pace, humor and delightful characterizations make BUD a great choice for a classroom read. Although perhaps more immediately interesting to boys, girls will also find characters, and even traits in Bud, to empathize and identify with.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avi. 2002. CRISPIN: the cross of lead. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 0786826479
SUMMARY
"Falsely accused of theft and murderm an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I found CRISPIN to be a tense and suspenseful novel, with an engaging story sure to draw in even the most reluctant readers. The plot is full of intrigue and twists and turns. As an adult reader, I could guess where things were going, but for its intended age group, the book should be riveting. I found some of the tension overdone, but still the book was interesting. Two main elements stood out on a first reading: Avi's use of incredibly sophisticated vocabulary, and his willingness to depict graphic and bloody violence. In CRIPSIN, clouds aren't moving across the sky, they're "scudding" (139). Smells are "cloying," sounds "clamor," and the use of period words such as glaives and humors is well done and instructive. An excellent example of sneaking the vitamins into the ice cream- readers will so caught up in the story they won't realize they're absorbing context and word usage until the next time they need a thesarus for a paper.
The main themes are familiar from other Young Adult novels: free will, self determination, identity as seperate from parents or the climate of the time. But in CRISPIN every aspect of the story takes on greater weight because of the quick pace and high stakes. Crispin is left on his own in the world and must make decisions that will affect the rest of his life, when he's been told that as a peasant he should only obey his masters. Crispin finally begins to see his own identity as seperate from his history, and he says of the corrupt steward, "He sought to kill me because of who I was. No, not who I was, but who my father and mother were" (220). Cripin learns to be free thinking and to judge on his own- "perhaps it was time for me to make the decision for myself" (138). In the beginning, Crispin is servile and thinks of himself as a nothing, or even as the "wolf's head" the steward proclaims him to be. But in the end he pits himself against the strength of the steward and a group of armed guards and wins. Crispin goes from thinking the freedom and justice Bear speaks of are treasonous, to embracing those things above a potential for vast wealth as his father's son.
Another theme of the story is political intrigue. Avi gives the book a strong anti-tyranny bias (but really, who's pro-tyranny?) and the as the story evolves we see that the main character Bear is involved in a potential peasant revolt. The reader learns through Avi's somewhat clumsy use of Bear as an info-dumper, that the nobility is evil, the noble blood in Cripsin is poison, and that power corrupts. There is no mention of Crispin embracing the other half of his identity- the Furnival half, in order to do good and ease the suffering his village and the others he passed through. Avi accepts no middle ground or compromise; Crispin must completely cut himself off from that path.
Like MATILDA BONE, CRISPIN does a good job of portraying the preeminence of the church in daily life. the murder of the Cripin's priest- the one person who has been kind to Crispin, is so shocking to Bear that he realizes there must be more to Crispin's history than it seems. Crispin prays nightly to God and to the saints, and indeed he prays and crosses himself before entering any new or unknown situation. Crispin also has complete confidence that the good things that have happened to him are entirely thanks to God. The reader gets the impression that the pious and impious greetings and exclamations between characters are not empty words, but hold meaning for the people speaking them. In addition, Crispin's cross, though eventually becoming the symbol of the life of privlidge he is abdicating, is for most of the story a sign of his love for his mother, and his faith in God. The portrayal of Medieval life is simultaneously more and less realistic than in MATILDA BONE. Avi shows a harsher life- the plague ridden countryside, the starving peasants working a "living death." And yet the intrigue and political machinations are further from the real day to day life of someome living in that time. Peasant revolts were few and far between, and massively unsuccessful until the Industrial Revolution forced the upheaval of England's agrarian society.
Another major theme is the relationship between Crispin and Bear. Although it is intense and terrifying at first, the friendship grows to become the best part of the book. Crispin who has been isolated and scorned find a true companion and father in Bear. Bear is an overwhelming personality, realistically drawn, heroic and full of ideals but perhaps a little naive about the danger of implementing them. Kind hearted and jolly, he is deeply saddened by the misery he sees in his travels.
I didn't have many expectations of this book going in. I know Avi is well known, but I've never read him before. I do know that generally, in a Young Adult novel, when a teenage boy finds out he's the secret son of the Lord of the Manor, the end of the story is a done deal- noble inheritance, looking down on those who scorned him, bringing peace and justice to the land... And yet Avi goes a different direction and thwarts those expectations.
REVIEWS
"Avi builds an impressive backdrop for his arresting characters: a tense medieval world in which hostility against the landowners and their cruelties is increasing. There's also other nail-biting tension in the story that builds to a gripping, somewhat confusing ending, which finds Crispin, once weak, now strong. Readers may not understand every nuance of the political machinations that propel the story, but they will feel the shifting winds of change beginning to blow through a feudal society." BOOKLIST
"Set in 14th-century England, Avi's (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle) 50th book begins with a funeral, that of a village outcast whose past is shrouded in mystery and whose adolescent son is known only as "Asta's son"...Crispin flees, and falls in with a traveling juggler. "I have no name," Crispin tells Bear, whose rough manners and appearance mask a tender heart. "No home, no kin, no place in this world." How the boy learns his true identity (he's the bastard son of the lord of the manor) and finds his place in the world makes for a rattling fine yarn. Avi's plot is engineered for maximum thrills, with twists, turns and treachery aplenty, but it's the compellingly drawn relationship between Crispin and Bear that provides the heart of this story." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
CONNECTIONS
I think CRISPIN, like MATILDA BONE, works best on a voluntary basis. I can appreciate it now, but as a 6th grade girl, I would have enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed Hatchett (NOT MUCH). But it's the perfect book to bring in non-readers, specifically boys. And it brings the time period alive, so it would be a wonderful supplement for a unit on medieval history. As one of a list of book report books- this would be a great addition to classroom discussion. And some young readers might need a little help navigating the political intrigue.
Avi. 2002. CRISPIN: the cross of lead. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 0786826479
SUMMARY
"Falsely accused of theft and murderm an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I found CRISPIN to be a tense and suspenseful novel, with an engaging story sure to draw in even the most reluctant readers. The plot is full of intrigue and twists and turns. As an adult reader, I could guess where things were going, but for its intended age group, the book should be riveting. I found some of the tension overdone, but still the book was interesting. Two main elements stood out on a first reading: Avi's use of incredibly sophisticated vocabulary, and his willingness to depict graphic and bloody violence. In CRIPSIN, clouds aren't moving across the sky, they're "scudding" (139). Smells are "cloying," sounds "clamor," and the use of period words such as glaives and humors is well done and instructive. An excellent example of sneaking the vitamins into the ice cream- readers will so caught up in the story they won't realize they're absorbing context and word usage until the next time they need a thesarus for a paper.
The main themes are familiar from other Young Adult novels: free will, self determination, identity as seperate from parents or the climate of the time. But in CRISPIN every aspect of the story takes on greater weight because of the quick pace and high stakes. Crispin is left on his own in the world and must make decisions that will affect the rest of his life, when he's been told that as a peasant he should only obey his masters. Crispin finally begins to see his own identity as seperate from his history, and he says of the corrupt steward, "He sought to kill me because of who I was. No, not who I was, but who my father and mother were" (220). Cripin learns to be free thinking and to judge on his own- "perhaps it was time for me to make the decision for myself" (138). In the beginning, Crispin is servile and thinks of himself as a nothing, or even as the "wolf's head" the steward proclaims him to be. But in the end he pits himself against the strength of the steward and a group of armed guards and wins. Crispin goes from thinking the freedom and justice Bear speaks of are treasonous, to embracing those things above a potential for vast wealth as his father's son.
Another theme of the story is political intrigue. Avi gives the book a strong anti-tyranny bias (but really, who's pro-tyranny?) and the as the story evolves we see that the main character Bear is involved in a potential peasant revolt. The reader learns through Avi's somewhat clumsy use of Bear as an info-dumper, that the nobility is evil, the noble blood in Cripsin is poison, and that power corrupts. There is no mention of Crispin embracing the other half of his identity- the Furnival half, in order to do good and ease the suffering his village and the others he passed through. Avi accepts no middle ground or compromise; Crispin must completely cut himself off from that path.
Like MATILDA BONE, CRISPIN does a good job of portraying the preeminence of the church in daily life. the murder of the Cripin's priest- the one person who has been kind to Crispin, is so shocking to Bear that he realizes there must be more to Crispin's history than it seems. Crispin prays nightly to God and to the saints, and indeed he prays and crosses himself before entering any new or unknown situation. Crispin also has complete confidence that the good things that have happened to him are entirely thanks to God. The reader gets the impression that the pious and impious greetings and exclamations between characters are not empty words, but hold meaning for the people speaking them. In addition, Crispin's cross, though eventually becoming the symbol of the life of privlidge he is abdicating, is for most of the story a sign of his love for his mother, and his faith in God. The portrayal of Medieval life is simultaneously more and less realistic than in MATILDA BONE. Avi shows a harsher life- the plague ridden countryside, the starving peasants working a "living death." And yet the intrigue and political machinations are further from the real day to day life of someome living in that time. Peasant revolts were few and far between, and massively unsuccessful until the Industrial Revolution forced the upheaval of England's agrarian society.
Another major theme is the relationship between Crispin and Bear. Although it is intense and terrifying at first, the friendship grows to become the best part of the book. Crispin who has been isolated and scorned find a true companion and father in Bear. Bear is an overwhelming personality, realistically drawn, heroic and full of ideals but perhaps a little naive about the danger of implementing them. Kind hearted and jolly, he is deeply saddened by the misery he sees in his travels.
I didn't have many expectations of this book going in. I know Avi is well known, but I've never read him before. I do know that generally, in a Young Adult novel, when a teenage boy finds out he's the secret son of the Lord of the Manor, the end of the story is a done deal- noble inheritance, looking down on those who scorned him, bringing peace and justice to the land... And yet Avi goes a different direction and thwarts those expectations.
REVIEWS
"Avi builds an impressive backdrop for his arresting characters: a tense medieval world in which hostility against the landowners and their cruelties is increasing. There's also other nail-biting tension in the story that builds to a gripping, somewhat confusing ending, which finds Crispin, once weak, now strong. Readers may not understand every nuance of the political machinations that propel the story, but they will feel the shifting winds of change beginning to blow through a feudal society." BOOKLIST
"Set in 14th-century England, Avi's (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle) 50th book begins with a funeral, that of a village outcast whose past is shrouded in mystery and whose adolescent son is known only as "Asta's son"...Crispin flees, and falls in with a traveling juggler. "I have no name," Crispin tells Bear, whose rough manners and appearance mask a tender heart. "No home, no kin, no place in this world." How the boy learns his true identity (he's the bastard son of the lord of the manor) and finds his place in the world makes for a rattling fine yarn. Avi's plot is engineered for maximum thrills, with twists, turns and treachery aplenty, but it's the compellingly drawn relationship between Crispin and Bear that provides the heart of this story." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
CONNECTIONS
I think CRISPIN, like MATILDA BONE, works best on a voluntary basis. I can appreciate it now, but as a 6th grade girl, I would have enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed Hatchett (NOT MUCH). But it's the perfect book to bring in non-readers, specifically boys. And it brings the time period alive, so it would be a wonderful supplement for a unit on medieval history. As one of a list of book report books- this would be a great addition to classroom discussion. And some young readers might need a little help navigating the political intrigue.
Matilda Bone
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 2000. MATILDA BONE. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395881560
SUMMARY
"Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprenctice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval England, tried to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and physical" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I thought this book was a interesting, engaging, and unusual perspective on life in the Middle Ages.
Matilda is at first unlikable. She's a proud and contemptous. What Matilda lacks in compassion she makes up for in overblown piety. We see, in her first interaction with a (human) patient at Peg's, that she begrudges a young mother and her sick child the bread and sausage Peg gives them: "She wished Mistress Peg would think of others who might be hungry before she gave thier dinner away" (36).
As readers we get to see her transformation into a kind and self-confident young woman. By the end of the novel, after nursing her friend Tildy back to health, Matilda recognizes that she has valuable gifts to offer the world and that she is a worthy person in her own right. Margery tells her "You used the skills you have: your quick thinking, good sense, your strength and your prayers, your friendship" (150). We see that everyday life may be different today than it was in Medieval England, but teenage girls are still struggling with the same issues.
In MATILDA, Cushman also deals with another common Young Adult issue, self-determination. When Matilda arrives on Peg's doorstep, she is thinking speaking and acting from the script given to her by Father Leufredus, her guardian at the Manor. Matilda moves from parroting at the beginning, "Father Leufredus advises against earthly attachments, for they take our minds away from God and Heaven" to coming to her own more compassionate (and in my view, Godly) conclusions at the end (18). Matilda learns to value kindness and practical good works over hypocritical theologies and empty learning.
One important aspect of her character development that really comes through for the reader is Matilda's shift in perspective on her life at the Manor. Early in the book, readers hear of life at the Manor as heaven on earth, but we realize slowly as Cushman reveals more of Matilda's character, that in fact her life has been very isolated and lonely, with no real friends of loved ones. Matilda finally realizes this too, and Cushman uses her epiphany as a catalyst for her further changes in thinking. Several concrete acts punctuate Matilda's changing worldview; the nursing of Effie, the gift of her coat to help a friend, and finally, her loyal treatment of Tildy. Once Matilda realizes she has gone from being merely tolerated at the Manor to being valued and loved as Peg's apprentice, she embraces her new life and friendships contentedly.
Cushman does a good job of including the reader in Peg and Margery's winking patience with Matilda. The book features a strong supporting cast of characters, memorable and full of subtle lessons for Matilda. Cushman does an excellent job of weaving in historical details that flesh out the life of regular people in that time and place. The preeminence of the church, even in Matilda's thoughts, will seem strange to today's middle schoolers, but it was the center of life then. The fascinating medical trivia is frequently disgusting, but always interesting. And Cushman does a good job with one difficult aspect of the Middle Ages, the delicacy of life. Early in the story we hear Margery tell of a woman dying in childbirth, and throughout the story characters become sick and/or die. Life was much more perilous than it is now (in this country). Students may be astonished to learn that the only defenses were basically God and folk remedies. A cold or a cut could mean death, and Peg's work as a bonesetter is terrifyingly important.
My problems with the book were few, but I felt that Matilda was hard to like for at least the first half. Her development was SLOW and frustrating. By the time Matilda, at the -very end- of the book, finally decides she should value Margery's kindness over Master Theobold's urinalysis, I was ready to scream. In addition, the novel suffers from strange and jerky pacing, and odd characterization decisions. Much of the relationship building with important secondary characters, like Tildy, takes place offstage.
REVIEWS
"Matilda's pride at being able to read and write, and her initial disdain of Peg, Peg's husband Tom, Margery the physician, and the other humble denizens of the area is palpable. Matilda's Latin oaths ("Saliva mucusque!" or "spit and slime") and her mental conversations with the saints provide humor, and her growth in self-knowledge as well as her friendships with both young and old in her new community keep listeners sympathetic." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Unlike Catherine and Brat, heroines whose combination of rebelliousness and resourcefulness made them instantly likeable, 13-year-old Matilda is less winning than her supporting cast...Fresh from the intolerant Father's tutelage, Matilda, in her zealous piety, snubs Peg and inadvertently thwarts the woman's work: more than once, while lost in prayer, the girl ruins a salve or a simple meal of porridge. Thus readers don't get the same insider's view of the bonesetter's apprenticeship that they saw of midwifery through Brat's eyes. The promise of a potential villain, Master Theobold, "the leading physick" who prizes money over healing, is never realized; the development of Matilda's friendship with another girl takes place mostly offstage; and, strangely, there are two denouements, in which Matilda makes the same realization that she has been wrong about Peg (one involving an ailing stranger whom she is treating, the other the apothecary's apprentice). Fiery Peg, her witty husband and her circle of friends will be the characters readers remember.
CONNECTIONS
This novel, being from a strongly feminine point of view, is probably unlikely to engage boys who aren't interested in reading anyway. There are descriptions of grossly humorous (though historically accurate) medical treatments, but not enough to draw in the boys I remember from middle school. I think it works best on a voluntary basis. It's certainly bursting with information about life in England in the Middle Ages, and from a perspective that's not often alluded to in history textbooks. It would be interesting as part of a small group of books, including perhaps Avi's CRISPIN, or for younger students, SALADIN (for a different worldview on the time period). Students could form some coffeeshop-esque book clubs and choose a book, maybe MATILDA, to discuss. At the end they could present a brief report on the Middle Ages from the perspective of the characters in the book they read. I think a book like MATILDA, with such fleshed out characters, is likely to draw some passionate responses.
Cushman, Karen. 2000. MATILDA BONE. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395881560
SUMMARY
"Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprenctice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval England, tried to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and physical" (CIP).
ANALYSIS
I thought this book was a interesting, engaging, and unusual perspective on life in the Middle Ages.
Matilda is at first unlikable. She's a proud and contemptous. What Matilda lacks in compassion she makes up for in overblown piety. We see, in her first interaction with a (human) patient at Peg's, that she begrudges a young mother and her sick child the bread and sausage Peg gives them: "She wished Mistress Peg would think of others who might be hungry before she gave thier dinner away" (36).
As readers we get to see her transformation into a kind and self-confident young woman. By the end of the novel, after nursing her friend Tildy back to health, Matilda recognizes that she has valuable gifts to offer the world and that she is a worthy person in her own right. Margery tells her "You used the skills you have: your quick thinking, good sense, your strength and your prayers, your friendship" (150). We see that everyday life may be different today than it was in Medieval England, but teenage girls are still struggling with the same issues.
In MATILDA, Cushman also deals with another common Young Adult issue, self-determination. When Matilda arrives on Peg's doorstep, she is thinking speaking and acting from the script given to her by Father Leufredus, her guardian at the Manor. Matilda moves from parroting at the beginning, "Father Leufredus advises against earthly attachments, for they take our minds away from God and Heaven" to coming to her own more compassionate (and in my view, Godly) conclusions at the end (18). Matilda learns to value kindness and practical good works over hypocritical theologies and empty learning.
One important aspect of her character development that really comes through for the reader is Matilda's shift in perspective on her life at the Manor. Early in the book, readers hear of life at the Manor as heaven on earth, but we realize slowly as Cushman reveals more of Matilda's character, that in fact her life has been very isolated and lonely, with no real friends of loved ones. Matilda finally realizes this too, and Cushman uses her epiphany as a catalyst for her further changes in thinking. Several concrete acts punctuate Matilda's changing worldview; the nursing of Effie, the gift of her coat to help a friend, and finally, her loyal treatment of Tildy. Once Matilda realizes she has gone from being merely tolerated at the Manor to being valued and loved as Peg's apprentice, she embraces her new life and friendships contentedly.
Cushman does a good job of including the reader in Peg and Margery's winking patience with Matilda. The book features a strong supporting cast of characters, memorable and full of subtle lessons for Matilda. Cushman does an excellent job of weaving in historical details that flesh out the life of regular people in that time and place. The preeminence of the church, even in Matilda's thoughts, will seem strange to today's middle schoolers, but it was the center of life then. The fascinating medical trivia is frequently disgusting, but always interesting. And Cushman does a good job with one difficult aspect of the Middle Ages, the delicacy of life. Early in the story we hear Margery tell of a woman dying in childbirth, and throughout the story characters become sick and/or die. Life was much more perilous than it is now (in this country). Students may be astonished to learn that the only defenses were basically God and folk remedies. A cold or a cut could mean death, and Peg's work as a bonesetter is terrifyingly important.
My problems with the book were few, but I felt that Matilda was hard to like for at least the first half. Her development was SLOW and frustrating. By the time Matilda, at the -very end- of the book, finally decides she should value Margery's kindness over Master Theobold's urinalysis, I was ready to scream. In addition, the novel suffers from strange and jerky pacing, and odd characterization decisions. Much of the relationship building with important secondary characters, like Tildy, takes place offstage.
REVIEWS
"Matilda's pride at being able to read and write, and her initial disdain of Peg, Peg's husband Tom, Margery the physician, and the other humble denizens of the area is palpable. Matilda's Latin oaths ("Saliva mucusque!" or "spit and slime") and her mental conversations with the saints provide humor, and her growth in self-knowledge as well as her friendships with both young and old in her new community keep listeners sympathetic." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Unlike Catherine and Brat, heroines whose combination of rebelliousness and resourcefulness made them instantly likeable, 13-year-old Matilda is less winning than her supporting cast...Fresh from the intolerant Father's tutelage, Matilda, in her zealous piety, snubs Peg and inadvertently thwarts the woman's work: more than once, while lost in prayer, the girl ruins a salve or a simple meal of porridge. Thus readers don't get the same insider's view of the bonesetter's apprenticeship that they saw of midwifery through Brat's eyes. The promise of a potential villain, Master Theobold, "the leading physick" who prizes money over healing, is never realized; the development of Matilda's friendship with another girl takes place mostly offstage; and, strangely, there are two denouements, in which Matilda makes the same realization that she has been wrong about Peg (one involving an ailing stranger whom she is treating, the other the apothecary's apprentice). Fiery Peg, her witty husband and her circle of friends will be the characters readers remember.
CONNECTIONS
This novel, being from a strongly feminine point of view, is probably unlikely to engage boys who aren't interested in reading anyway. There are descriptions of grossly humorous (though historically accurate) medical treatments, but not enough to draw in the boys I remember from middle school. I think it works best on a voluntary basis. It's certainly bursting with information about life in England in the Middle Ages, and from a perspective that's not often alluded to in history textbooks. It would be interesting as part of a small group of books, including perhaps Avi's CRISPIN, or for younger students, SALADIN (for a different worldview on the time period). Students could form some coffeeshop-esque book clubs and choose a book, maybe MATILDA, to discuss. At the end they could present a brief report on the Middle Ages from the perspective of the characters in the book they read. I think a book like MATILDA, with such fleshed out characters, is likely to draw some passionate responses.
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