Ooof. I was in the process of moving while reading these and the writing of the post got put off a couple weeks. I had varying opinions on this batch, but was pleased overall.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
I had briefly heard about Claudette a few years back probably shortly after this book was published or during the 60 year anniversary of the bus boycott. Unfortunately I had heard some of the lies Claudette mentions in the book (she was unruly, she was a delinquent, and she was pregnant at the time have all been said - but none reflect reality). This book has such an easy and informative writing style, it weaves together first-person accounts and historical narrative with ease. This book illustrates very strongly the impact of young people doing small things to address injustice. In Claudette's case her small thing snowballed into her having to appear in court several times and working with early leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.
I highly recommend this book to all students about to begin their studies on the Civil Rights Movement.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
You know what sub-genre the ALA seems to really enjoy? Spunky 1800s girls that don't conform to societal norms. I suppose this is a decent entry into that field but I'm a little worn on families that just don't understand the protagonist with the exception of one mentor. In this case the mentor is Calpurnia's Grand-daddy Tate, they have such a happy and real connection that I can only say that it feels like they have been close for years and years - instead it is very clearly established that the Tate children are afraid of their grandfather and Calpurnia has only gotten to know him over the past six months or so.
Grand-daddy is a member of the National Geographic Society and a contemporary of Darwin. Calpurnia is observant and questions the natural world, creating hypotheses based on deductive reasoning. This is the foundation of their relationship. I must say it was nice to see that Calpurnia was devoted to biology and that was what brought about her dislike for 'womanly duties' - they simply take away from her time observing nature.
Some common tropes but just enough fresh spice to make this read fairly enjoyable.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
MOOD. WHIPLASH. This book starts out pretty close to how you'd expect based on the cover (though I never did figure out which bits of Homer's story is not true). I went through most of the book thinking about how oddly jaunty it was considering that Homer is journeying to free his brother from illegal military service. There are lots of misadventures but they are always a little 'chipper' (especially jarring when he encounters people making their way to freedom on the underground railroad). The whole ludicrous journey reaches its apex when the travelling circus Homer was touring with as a Pig-Boy is arrested because the leader is a spy - but Homer steals a Union balloon and manages to crash behind Confederate lines. He is briefly arrested and here is where we take a sharp turn from over-the-top-amusement to... the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg is depicted in all its blood and anguish. From the Confederate barn where the living are sorted from the dead and treated to emergency amputations, to bodies littering the battlefield, to soldiers despairing about never returning home. Just a couple chapters of hardcore reality to end this weirdly disconnected tale.
Not really my favorite but sure beats Rifles for Watie.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
A tale that takes the fairy tale novel formula but instead of European influences, it draws from Chinese mythologies and folktales. I really enjoy these sort of stories because you can see the kinds of tropes that seem to exist worldwide -while also introducing new and exciting elements. Of course it may be possible that the most recognizable tropes arise because of Lin's background growing up in the US as a child of Taiwanese immigrants. No matter the case the story is familiar enough to take me into the coziness of a fairy tale - yet new enough to make it exciting!
Highly recommended for young fantasy fans - especially fans of fairy tales!
In the end I'm still a big fan of the official winner When You Reach Me just because of how well that book developed its plot. However I can see the obvious appeal for these honors and was truly pleased by two books.
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