Thunderous Whisper by Christina Diaz Gonzalez - Review and Blog Tour

Gonzalez, Christina Diaz. A Thunderous Whisper. Knopf/Random House Children's Books, 2012. 304p.  $16.99. 978-0-375-86929-7.

Historical Fiction - World War II -
  Guernica, Spain ("The Bombing of Guernica, 1937," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2005))


My Thoughts
"Life isn't always fair." "But it's what you do about the unfairness that counts."

I hope that in the face of adversity, I would stand up and risk danger. But, despite the FEAR NOT ring I wear, I don't know if I have it in me.  Unlike Anetxu and Mathias.

Anetxu has a tough life. Her older brother died from polio and her elderly father is away fighting in the Spanish Civil War.  Her and her mother are trying to survive by selling sardines to the poor.  Consequently, she becomes known as Sardine Girl, that is, when people notice her.  Sardine Girl has no friends. She also spends a lot of time helping her mother, who is not the most affectionate person.

"Best that you realize early on that people always leave...Can't get too attached or else you won't survive."

Anetxu spends her days barely living just going to school and then helping her mother make sardine sales until she meets Mathias. They don't hit it off right away but gradually, as Anextu grows up, they become best friends. The give and take in their conversations is fun and gives Ani, Mathias' nickname for Anextu, something to look forward to. He even helps her stand up to a bully. As they become closer, Mathias gets Ani to help him support his father, the spy.

Gonzalez does a great job of describing her setting. Guernica comes to life, especially the area around Ani's favorite tree, the schoolyard, and the beautiful old theater. Ani's character is also carefully written.  She slowly comes out of her shell as she learns about herself. She is not suddenly brave and different but events reveal her inner self and we are taken along with her. Mathias, on the other hand, is more of a sketch of a boy with everything spelled out. We know who he is and what to expect from him, no surprises. This doesn't lessen our immersion into A Thunderous Whisper. The focus on the bombing of Guernica, what leads up to it and the aftermath, keeps us reading. A Thunderous Whisper adds a missing element to a study of World War II and would be a welcome addition to literature circle discussion. I give it 4 copies.

A WWII Study
A few books that I've read that cover a similar time period and would fit a study.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle
Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari


About the Author
Christina Diaz Gonzalez is the author of the award-winning and best-selling children’s novel, THE RED UMBRELLA. Ms. Gonzalez’s debut novel (the story of a 14 year old Cuban girl who is sent to the U.S. in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan) showcases the generosity of the American spirit and highlights the pain of losing one’s homeland. Reviewers from publications such as The Washington Post, Publisher’s Weekly and School Library Journal have praised the book as being exceptional, compelling and inspirational.

The Brain Lair reviews The Red Umbrella.

Other Read Now Sleep Later Book Tour Dates
Wednesday, October 24 - Read Now Sleep Later (Podcast Interview and Giveaway)
Friday, October 26 - Cindy L. Rodriguez (Review and Interview)
Monday, October 29 - There's a Book (Review)
November - HeiseReads (Review and Interview)
Friday, November 2 - Princess Bookie (Review and Giveaway)
Friday, November 9 - Bookalicious.org (Q&A, Review, and Giveaway)
Friday, November 16 - Steph Su Reads (Giveaway and Interview)

Thank you to Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this ARC.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life- Teen Reviewer!
.....................................................................................
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Genres: Historical Fiction, Dystopia
Release Date: Feburary 7, 2012
Source: The library!

Let me start of by saying this: I really wanted to love this book. I've heard so many good things about it, and I just had that feeling that I was going to love it. Also, the authors is so nice on Twitter, and I love her. But unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

So, let's start with the characters. Our protagonist is Cate, who is trying to balance everything from managing her sisters to keeping up with town appearances so no on suspects the Cahill family of witchery. I didn't like Cate at first. She was so stubborn, and sometimes was really plain mean to her sisters. But, I did grow to like her as the story went on. I liked that she wasn't perfect, but sometimes she just got on my nerves [especially towards the end, where she makes some really stupid decisions]. But overall, I liked her, even though she did irritate me.

The setting of the book was interesting. It seems like it's set in a dystopia 1900s type thing. Throughout the book though, I kind of wanted some more information. There was some mention of a Indo-China and war or something like that, but it was only mentioned once or twice. I'm hoping that we get to learn more about that in the next book, because it actually seems pretty interesting. The world-building doesn't seem complete to me in this book, so hopefully we'll learn something in the next one.

The plot started off quite boring, actually in the beginning, but the book really started getting interesting in the middle. There were some good plot twists that I didn't see coming, but there were also a few that were kind of obvious. I definitely wouldn't say this is an action packed book or super fast paced, but it was intriguing; you wanted to know what happened.

Now... the love triangle. I didn't really like it. To me, there was a case of almost insta-love, and I don't really like either of the guys. It's not very well done, and it seemed... a little forced, I guess. It would have been nice to see a little character development in both of the guys, so we could really see what they were like. So, I didn't really like it, at all.

Sometimes in the book, especially at the beginning, everything was downright depressing. Everything was going wrong, their mother is dead, Cate has to protect everyone, keep their identity a secret, etc. I mean, how can a 16 year old girl do that?! I wanted something actually happy for her. I can't imagine living through all that and still being totally sane. A little bit of happiness or happy events would have been great to the story, and make everything seem a little less hopeless, in my opinion.

And then the ending. I feel like it was so abrupt, a definite cliffhanger. We're left with so many questions, and I didn't really understand it. I felt like the events were so rushed. A little more time at the end would have been really good, so that we could understand everything. The book wasn't that fast paced, so the ending felt even more rushed at the end. It seemed like an almost awkward place to stop. Overall, it wasn't a very good ending, especially because it's a total cliffhanger [and we all know how everyone hates a cliffhanger ending].

So, in the end, it was a pretty good book, despite the problems. It was compelling to read, and I was interested in the story. But, there were so many problems that I couldn't fully enjoy the story. I still probably will read the next book [which is going to be called Star Cursed], although I won't be buying it, just getting it from the library.








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The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson - Review

Reviewed by MG Annie


The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
200 pgs.


Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5 stars
Date: 2011, Delacorte Press


Format
Each section of this book was a new doll and a new time that Miss Kanagawa, the friendship doll, came to know by watching. This setup was different for me and I had to get used to it.


Thoughts
From 1928 to present time, Miss Kanagawa helped the dolls in her own way. Mostly the book described people from earlier times. It also explained what friendship dolls were really about. I learned some interesting facts about the time periods in this book.


Although I didn't think this novel was very intriguing in the first and last chapters overall I enjoyed it. I would recommend The Friendship Dolls by Kirby Lawson to girls aged eight to twelve. 



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Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai - Review

Inside Out and Back Again
Thanhha Lai
HarperCollins Children's
2/2011

Ha and her family are forced to move from Saigon to Alabama.  They not only leave behind their life experiences and their belongings but also Ha's father who was captured by the military.  They haven't seen nor heard from him in years and are afraid that, if he is alive, he will never be able to find them in America.

In Saigon the family is mostly happy but very poor.

Yam and manioc
taste lovely
blended with rice,
she says, and smiles,
as if I don't know
how the poor 
fill their children's bellies.

And the high cost of everything without any additional money coming in combined with the encroaching war is what convinces the mom that leaving is their best bet.  Their father's military connections land them a coveted spot on a naval ship. All is not well in America.  The family is ostracized and Ha is bullied at school.

Things will get better,
just you wait.


I don't believe her
but it feels good
that someone knows.

The brothers and the mom look for work and try to support themselves, not wanting to depend on the American who "sponsored" them, especially since he didn't really want a family.  Throughout the parts in Alabama, we also listen in as Ha learns English with all of it's confusing rules.  This helps to lighten the story somewhat.

Historical fiction works well as a verse novel.  The spareness of the prose makes the images seem more stark and heartfelt. The story takes place over one year, opening and closing with Tet, the lunar new year.  Ha's wishes on both these days help to solidify the changes we see happening to her over the course of the novel.

Possible Pairs
All The Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle
The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez

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