Parvana never thought her father would go to jail. But the Taliban has changed so much in Afghanistan. Women can no longer go outside without a male relative to escort them. Parvana's brother is too little to go outside. Without Father, her family has no way to make money to provide for them. Then they came up with a plan. What if Parvana pretends to be a boy? One of my professors read this to me twenty years ago, and at first, I wasn't interested. Then by the end of the second chapter, I was hooked. The characters pull at your heart, and the plot picks up quickly as Parvana tries to survive from day to day. The brutality of the Taliban make you appreciate what we have in the United States. The Breadwinner is a hard book to read, but one that helps you see into a unfamiliar world, one we need to see. I had also forgotten the book leaves you hanging in many areas, and there are a few sequels for this book.
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She's not quite sure why her dad brought her and her brother, Simon, to North Korea. Mia was adopted from South Korea. However, her father wants her and Simon to come with him on a trip to North Korea where he will talk about food distribution for the people of North Korea. When her father sneaks out of their hotel room late at night, she knows something is up. But she never expected him to arrested the next day. What happens now that she and Simon are alone in a communist country? The beginning held my attention with dad sneaking off on a secret meeting. Then the story slowed for me because Simon and Mia had very little interaction. There is a reason for that, and they get to it finally. Then the story picks up as they near the Chinese border. The little side chapters are also sometimes interesting and sometimes confusing. They are from the Korean people that Simon and Mia come into contact with and what is happening from their perspective, but sometimes you have to go back to see where they fit in. I appreciated this story over all, and the ending is well worth the read. There is some cussing in the story, but it is more PG. Hanna rarely goes out when her father does. She is not accepted in the culture around her. It is the time of the pioneer and the western frontier, a time when Americans were trying to settle the prairie. But Hanna does not look like those around her. Though her father is an American of European descent, her mother was from Asia (half-Chinese and half-Korean). Hanna wants so badly to go to school and get an education like her mother wanted her to before she died. However, no one in the town seems to want Hanna at the school. This is a hard but sweet book to read about the prejudices that come from people that look different than us. It makes me cringe to hear the words people said to her, but I have no doubt they are words many people heard over the years. It also reminds me of the importance of education and how it was denied to so many over the years. Linda Sue Park wrote this as a tribute to one of her favorite author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, because she wanted to place herself in a time and place like Little House on the Prairie. I grew up on those stories and started reading them at the age of six. It's hard to know that there are some imperfections in those books which the author points out at the end. However, we can still hope that even with all the prejudice, people are able to rise above their circumstances like some of Hanna's friends. In 2008, Nya walks to the water every day to gather water for her family, taking the entire day. In 1985, Salva makes another walk, away from his family, away from Sudan to save his life and avoid the fighting. Salva faces thirst, lions, and crocodiles as he becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan. Park wrote this story based on Salva's life experience. It's hard to read about the hardships and loss Salva suffered as he travels to Ethiopia. What makes it even harder is knowing all of it is true. To think that someone of middle school age could survive such a journey is nothing short of miraculous. Whatever we suffer is nothing compared to Salva's story. It helps you gain some perspective and hope in the human spirit. It reminds us that mankind is capable of great evil and great good. Omar has moved to a new school and neighborhood, and he wants to fit in. However, he knows that his family stands out because they are Muslim. Their neighbor, Mrs. Rogers, talks about them and does not seem very friendly. In Omar's class, Daniel also doesn't like him and picks on him. At least Omar has his new friend, Charles, but can Omar stay out of trouble when he seems to be drawn to it? Planet Omar was originally released as The Muslims. Omar shares a lot about his religion in a way that is easy to understand. The story is written in a way that Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans can appreciate with drawings interspersed throughout the text. It's an easy read, and I was able to finish it quickly. I appreciated the message of accepting others that are different from you and being willing to look past those who at first misjudge you. Ernest Shackleton was not the first to reach the South Pole. That honor goes to Roald Amundsen in 1911. However, he and 27 other men would be the first to explore Antarctica. Things became dire when the ice freezes around their ship. Somehow these men were able to cross Antarctica, row to another island, and find rescue despite insurmountable odds. This piece of narrative nonfiction will make you cringe and keep saying, "No way!" That these men actually survived is nothing short of a miracle. Word of a warning: If you are an animal lover, there are some sad moments. What I appreciate about narrative nonfiction is that everything happened. You don't have to wonder if this was from history. Mark Twain wrote, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." This book definitely fits that quote. This is a sequel to Making Bombs for Hitler, but I believe you could read this separately. Luka escapes from the work camp, leaving Lida behind. His escape was under the dead corpses from the camp hospital. He manages to get away and survive for a time in the forest. He meets up with different people, some he is not sure he can trust. His goal is to go back to Ukraine and find his family, at least his father who was sent to Siberia. On his way back, he is invited to fight in the Ukrainian underground army to fight for independence from both the Nazis and the Soviets. After reading Making Bombs for Hitler, you know the beginning and part of the ending of this story. Like the previous book, the author takes over a hundred pages to get to the underground war. The other parts are still interesting, but I wish the blurb on the back of the book more accurately reflected the majority of the content in the book. Again the story picks up significantly once Luka joins the underground. So if you are willing to wait, this is a book that gives you another side of Ukraine during World War II. Lida believed she had nothing to worry about from the Nazis. In Ukraine, the fear was for the Soviets. When the Nazis come to her town, people celebrate. Then she is taken, taken to a work camp to work. First, she uses her sewing skills, and then she is sent to work on making bombs. Lida struggles to survive in a work camp, little better than a concentration camp, where any wrong move could lead to her death and the death of everyone in the place. Once you get to Lida making bombs, the story picks up. However, it takes the author over one hundred pages before she talks about Lida making bombs. As a history nerd, I enjoy learning about something new that I had not heard before. However, if you are going to give your book the title, "Making Bombs for Hitler," I would think you want to get to that part sooner. The book is still worth reading. Just be prepared to wait for the actual bomb making. This is the sequel to Ungifted, but I think you can read this book without reading the first one. However, I don't know if you'll enjoy it as much. Noah Youkilis has been a star his whole life. With an extremely high IQ, his teachers at the gifted academy struggled to test his abilities. However, when he goes to a regular public school, he realizes that he can finally fail...and he loves it. He loves everything about middle school and wants to join the cheerleading team. His coordination though leaves much to be desired, and the head cheerleader, Megan, doesn't know what to do with him. When he supposedly saves her life and becomes a hero, there are a whole new set of problems. Enjoying the first book in the series, Ungifted, I knew I had to pick up the sequel. Gordon Korman does not disappoint. You still have your characters from the first book, but I have to say they reach new heights of humor in the second. Noah's ability to be a genius and completely clueless at the same time is priceless. If you are looking for a good laugh, pick up Supergifted. As I picked up Prisoner B-3087, Mr. Peek recommended another book, a memoir by his wife. She was also a Holocaust survivor. Ruth also survived the Nazi invasion in her home country, Poland, but she did so through hiding. She and her family had to hide in tight spaces to keep out of sight, even hiding in a chest or trunk while someone came to visit the family she was staying with. Though Ruth's story was not as hard to read as Jack's, Ruth also struggled to survive as a young girl, not understanding why she had to stay hidden. The late night conversations her parents had with those they stayed with are particularly heartbreaking. She did not endure as much physical suffering as her future husband, but she still had her own trial to bear. Her story reminds me of Diary of Anne Frank, but you can be assured that she survived, the title itself gives you that hope when her story seems hopeless. She tells her story more straightforward than the novel based on Jack's life. You can see the difference in this memoir as you see the truth that was her life during and right after the war. |
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June 2021
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