Book of Lost Things (2013)

The Book of Lost Things. (Mister Max #1). 2013. Random House. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I definitely liked The Book of Lost Things. Perhaps I didn't LOVE it as much as The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates, but, it was still a very good read. Mister Max is set in England at the turn of the twentieth century.

Max's parents are famous actors in the theatre. The novel opens with his parents receiving an invitation to go on a special tour. It seems a luxurious offer. Max's grandmother, a librarian, feels the offer is too good to be true. Though she's not allowed to look at the actual invitation or the tickets it contained. Max was to be included in the trip, but, he was to meet his parents at the ship before it departed. When he arrives, quite on time, his parents are gone, the ship has gone too. Or so it appears. In truth, the invitation was a trap. The name of the ship was part of the deception, as was the destination. Max has no idea what happened to his parents. They were able to write a quick note to be given to the "boy on the bicycle" (Max), however, which has a message of sorts for him. So Max is partly on his own, partly under the supervision of his grandmother.

This is NOT a book about Max searching for clues as to what happened to his parents. Max is NOT involved in anyway with that search or research. Once his parents have vanished, well, Max's concerns are mainly economic. This is a book about a somewhat creative boy finding a way to make money while he waits for others to solve the BIG mystery of what happens to his parents. He has two or three little mysteries to solve. And at these little mysteries he excels. These little mysteries might be predictable to adult readers. But despite the fact that adult readers may see how the end will come together, the story itself is enjoyable enough. The book has a handful of interesting characters, Max included.

For readers looking for a quest, a desperate boy willing to risk it all and go on a fantastic journey to find and save his parents, you may be disappointed. But depending on your expectations, you might find yourself surprised by how entertaining it is. 

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Beholding Bee (2013)

Beholding Bee. Kimberly Newton Fusco. 2013. Random House. 336 pages. [Source: Review Copy]

I loved so many things about Beholding Bee. Beholding Bee has just a touch of fantasy to it, but, otherwise it has a very historical feel to it. The book is set during the early days of World War II. The heroine, Bee, is, in my opinion, quite unforgettable. She's eleven or so. She's an orphan. Her upbringing has been unusual to say the least. She travels with a carnival. She helps with the food stand: hotdogs, popcorn, honey buns, lemonade, etc. She has a close bond with Pauline, a woman with the carnival who has basically raised her since she was four. Bee has a birthmark. She does not necessarily like people staring at her, pointing at her, laughing at her, making rude comments. The owner of the carnival treats her like she's an attraction to the show itself, a freak on display. So, whenever possible, Bee tries to keep her birthmark covered with either her hair or her hand. She also likes to try to face a certain way so her birthmark isn't quite so obvious to strangers. But when Pauline falls in love (a bit too quickly), things change for Bee very quickly. Changes are coming quickly for many people. Men everywhere are joining up in the forces, and men who aren't army material, well, they still feel like they should be doing something more. Bobby, Bee's other best friend, has been rejected by the army, but, he's determined to get a factory job so he too can serve his country. One day life in the carnival becomes too much for her. Bee takes the dog (her forbidden pet) and runs away...what happens next is a bit fantastical. But it is wonderful too.

I loved every twist in this story. I loved seeing Bee live in that quaint house with her two aunts. I loved seeing Bee struggle to join the community and attend school. I loved meeting Bee's classmates. That 'educational' aspect of the novel was quite something! So many things we take for granted now, but, fairness has to be fought for sometimes.

I would definitely recommend Beholding Bee!
© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Moon and More (2013)

The Moon and More. Sarah Dessen. Penguin. 384 pages. 

While The Moon and More isn't my new favorite Dessen novel of all time, it was WONDERFUL to spend time with new characters in the beach town of Colby. What I love about Dessen's YA novels is the fact that relationships--ALL relationships matter. Family relationships and friendships are typically very important in her works. This one was no exception.


Emaline, our heroine, has a steady job, a steady boyfriend, Luke, and a steady (blended) family. Her stepfather has raised her since she was two, and he is her DAD. She can't imagine not having two stepsisters, Margo and Amber. Though each sister can drive her crazy! And her mom, well, her mom is her mom. There's some awkwardness now and then as her mom's good intentions are not quite appreciated as intended. But Emaline knows her family is good and strong. Her relationship with Luke seems steady enough as well, at the beginning. They've been together since ninth grade! But there has been increasing awkwardness between them as well, ever since her mother caught them together in a compromising situation. Morris and Daisy are Emaline's BEST FRIENDS. And I love that these best friends play such a huge role in this novel! Emaline's job isn't horribly fun or exciting, but, it's a job--a job that brings her into contact with some cranky people. Then again, it also brings Theo into her life.

Theo and Ivy are SOMETHING. Ivy films documentaries, and she's in Colby to get the story behind local artist, Clyde Conaway. Theo is her assistant. He's only a few years older than Emaline, and he's so very, very different from all the guys Emaline has ever known. When Theo isn't being abused or pushed around by Ivy, he's making much of Emaline. He's determined that she is key to his "BEST SUMMER EVER."

For those wanting a magical romance, I'm not sure this one will fully satisfy. But that is what makes The Moon and More so great. It is a novel about growing up in a messy world and accepting life as it is. For Emaline that means feeling CONFUSED and uncertain about her biological father. One thing is certain: she loves her half-brother, Benji. But her father, well, he said he would pay her college tuition, he encouraged her--almost pressured her--to apply to BIG schools. When she let him know the good news that she was accepted at Columbia, he promptly disappointed her.  So her "big dream" won't be coming true at summer's end.

I loved this one for the characterization. I loved it because it was complex with no easy answers.

Quotes:

There's a difference between the words father and dad. And it's more than three letters.  (25)

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Only You Can Save Mankind (1992)

Only You Can Save Mankind. Terry Pratchett. 1992. 207 pages.

Our hero, Johnny Maxwell, doesn't believe that he is the only one who could save mankind. The war in Iraq and his parents divorce has got him out of sorts; when the novel opens, Johnny is escaping into the world of computer games. But when his game of the moment--Only You Can Save Mankind--starts acting strangely, his escape becomes more disturbing than reality itself: for the aliens in the game are communicating with him. The aliens are SURRENDERING to him and asking him for safe escort back to their home planet! Johnny thinks that's a bizarre twist for a game. But after thinking about it, he goes with it. And then come the dreams…


Pratchett explores reality and fantasy in this YA drama that examines the whys of war and explores how we define "enemies."

It would be interesting to read this one alongside Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Only You Can Save Mankind is a bizarre book. It is a bizarre coming-of-age story as Johnny Maxwell learns a few life lessons. What makes the story odd is HOW those life-lessons are learned.

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Destiny, Rewritten (2013)

Destiny, Rewritten. Kathryn Fitzmaurice. 2013. HarperCollins. 176 pages.

I really enjoyed The Year The Swallows Came Early, and I loved, loved, LOVED A Diamond in the Desert. How did I feel about Destiny, Rewritten? I really, really liked it. I appreciated so many things about the heroine, Emily Elizabeth Davis. She's a heroine who needs to believe in happy endings, who writes out her favorite happy endings from books, who checks to see that there is a happy ending before even reading books, who regularly writes Danielle Steel. She's presented as smart and kind, a girl you want for a best friend, a sister, a daughter. But her life isn't perfect. Emily feels some slight pressure from her mom to live up to her destiny. Emily doesn't embrace poetry; she doesn't feel called to BE a poet just because her mom named her after Emily Dickinson. The inspiring story about how her mom found a first edition complete poems of Emily Dickinson just days before she was born? Well, it makes her love and appreciate her mom--the book of poems is updated in the margins with details from her life--but it doesn't make her want to write poetry or even write about poetry.

One day, this treasured book is LOST, donated by accident. Emily and her friends and family come together to search the city for this one-of-a-kind book. Her mom is relaxed, reassuring. If the book is meant to come back to her, then it will. Her mom is all about how destiny can't be forced or rushed, that you just have to accept it, embrace it one day at a time. Emily NEEDS the book, NOW. Why? She's just learned that the name of her father is hidden inside its pages. She never discovered this because she's never read it cover to cover. (Her mom won't tell her who her father is, won't explain why he's not a part of their lives.)

So will Emily get her happy ending?!

I definitely recommend this one! I really love Kathryn Fitzmaurice's writing. One of the reasons I love her writing is the great characterization.

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Sunday Salon: Reading Rilla of Ingleside (1921)

Rilla of Ingleside. L.M. Montgomery. 1921. 280 pages.

IT was a warm, golden-cloudy, lovable afternoon. In the big living-room at Ingleside Susan Baker sat down with a certain grim satisfaction hovering about her like an aura; it was four o'clock and Susan, who had been working incessantly since six that morning, felt that she had fairly earned an hour of repose and gossip. 

 I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rilla of Ingleside. It is beautiful, heartbreaking, wonderful, memorable, and compelling. It is everything it should be. It closely follows World War I--from the Canadian home front; and at times it shows just how ugly and frightening war can be. It's a patriotic novel, however. Rilla of Ingleside is also an unforgettable coming of age story. Readers watch Rilla mature from a laughter-loving fourteen year old girl into a strong, resilient young woman ready for life and love. This is Rilla's story from cover to cover. Rilla is forced to say goodbye to three brothers (Jem, Walter, Shirley), two childhood friends (Jerry, Carl), and her young love (Kenneth Ford) as they go off to war and uncertain futures. And she has to do with a smile on her face and no tears. Will she ever see any of them again? Will they return whole? Will life ever be the same for any of them again?

But Rilla is ever-busy. Not only is she doing work for the Red-Cross, she's adopted a war orphan! Though she's just fourteen, this young baby boy will be HER responsibility. For Rilla who has never really "liked" babies or found them cute and adorable, this is a challenge...at least at first. But as he starts to grow and change...her heart melts.  

My favorite characters were Rilla, Susan Baker, Walter, Miss Oliver, and Dog Monday. If you've read this one, don't you agree that the Dog Monday parts are incredibly moving?

From chapter one:

There was a big, black headline on the front page of the Enterprise, stating that some Archduke Ferdinand or other had been assassinated at a place bearing the weird name of Sarajevo, but Susan tarried not over uninteresting, immaterial stuff like that; she was in quest of something really vital.

Well, that is all the notes and there is not much else in the paper of any importance. I never take much interest in foreign parts. Who is this Archduke man who has been murdered?" "What does it matter to us?" asked Miss Cornelia, unaware of the hideous answer to her question which destiny was even then preparing. "Somebody is always murdering or being murdered in those Balkan States. It's their normal condition and I don't really think that our papers ought to print such shocking things. 

Wherever Rilla Blythe was, there was laughter.  

There was another occupant of the living-room, curled up on a couch, who must not be overlooked, since he was a creature of marked individuality, and, moreover, had the distinction of being the only living thing whom Susan really hated. All cats are mysterious but Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde–"Doc" for short–were trebly so. He was a cat of double personality–or else, as Susan vowed, he was possessed by the devil. To begin with, there had been something uncanny about the very dawn of his existence. Four years previously Rilla Blythe had had a treasured darling of a kitten, white as snow, with a saucy black tip to its tail, which she called Jack Frost. Susan disliked Jack Frost, though she could not or would not give any valid reason therefor.
"Take my word for it, Mrs. Dr. dear," she was wont to say ominously, "that cat will come to no good."
"But why do you think so?" Mrs. Blythe would ask.
"I do not think–I know," was all the answer Susan would vouchsafe.

"The only thing I envy a cat is its purr," remarked Dr. Blythe once, listening to Doc's resonant melody. "It is the most contented sound in the world."

Rilla is the only one of my flock who isn't ambitious. I really wish she had a little more ambition. She has no serious ideals at all–her sole aspiration seems to be to have a good time.

 From chapter two,

Rilla was the "baby" of the Blythe family and was in a chronic state of secret indignation because nobody believed she was grown up. She was so nearly fifteen that she called herself that, and she was quite as tall as Di and Nan; also, she was nearly as pretty as Susan believed her to be. She had great, dreamy, hazel eyes, a milky skin dappled with little golden freckles, and delicately arched eyebrows, giving her a demure, questioning look which made people, especially lads in their teens, want to answer it. Her hair was ripely, ruddily brown and a little dent in her upper lip looked as if some good fairy had pressed it in with her finger at Rilla's christening. Rilla, whose best friends could not deny her share of vanity, thought her face would do very well, but worried over her figure, and wished her mother could be prevailed upon to let her wear longer dresses. She, who had been so plump and roly-poly in the old Rainbow Valley days, was incredibly slim now, in the arms-and-legs period. Jem and Shirley harrowed her soul by calling her "Spider." Yet she somehow escaped awkwardness. There was something in her movements that made you think she never walked but always danced. She had been much petted and was a wee bit spoiled, but still the general opinion was that Rilla Blythe was a very sweet girl, even if she were not so clever as Nan and Di.

Rilla loved Walter with all her heart. He never teased her as Jem and Shirley did. He never called her "Spider." His pet name for her was "Rilla-my-Rilla"–a little pun on her real name, Marilla...

 Dog Monday was the Ingleside dog, so called because he had come into the family on a Monday when Walter had been reading Robinson Crusoe. He really belonged to Jem but was much attached to Walter also. He was lying beside Walter now with nose snuggled against his arm, thumping his tail rapturously whenever Walter gave him a pat. Monday was not a collie or a setter or a hound or a Newfoundland. He was just, as Jem said, "plain dog"–very plain dog, uncharitable people added. Certainly, Monday's looks were not his strong point. Black spots were scattered at random over his yellow carcass, one of them blotting out an eye. His ears were in tatters, for Monday was never successful in affairs of honour. But he possessed one talisman. He knew that not all dogs could be handsome or eloquent or victorious, but that every dog could love. Inside his homely hide beat the most affectionate, loyal, faithful heart of any dog since dogs were; and something looked out of his brown eyes that was nearer akin to a soul than any theologian would allow. Everybody at Ingleside was fond of him, even Susan.

"There's plenty of time for you to be grown up, Rilla. Don't wish your youth away. It goes too quickly. You'll begin to taste life soon enough."
"Taste life! I want to eat it," cried Rilla, laughing. "I want everything–everything a girl can have. I'll be fifteen in another month, and then nobody can say I'm a child any longer. I heard someone say once that the years from fifteen to nineteen are the best years in a girl's life. I'm going to make them perfectly splendid–just fill them with fun."
"There's no use thinking about what you're going to do–you are tolerably sure not to do it."
"Oh, but you do get a lot of fun out of the thinking," cried Rilla.
"You think of nothing but fun, you monkey," said Miss Oliver indulgently, reflecting that Rilla's chin was really the last word in chins. "Well, what else is fifteen for?"

From chapter three,

"The new day is knocking at the window. What will it bring us, I wonder.... "I think the nicest thing about days is their unexpectedness," went on Rilla. "It's jolly to wake up like this on a golden-fine morning and day-dream for ten minutes before I get up, imagining the heaps of splendid things that may happen before night."

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Wall (2013)

The Wall. William Sutcliffe. 2013. Walker.  304 pages.

The Wall is a thought-provoking coming of age novel. What is missing from Joshua's life is peace. He HATES his step-father, and readers learn there is good reason for this. But it isn't just family turmoil leading to his uneasiness. Perhaps it all starts when Joshua discovers a tunnel that goes under the wall, a tunnel that he explores. He visits the other side of the wall, he walks the streets, sees the "enemy" up, close, for the first time perhaps, and realizes that there aren't really any discernible differences. The way Joshua's father RANTS about them, he expected the "them" to be obvious threats, but that isn't the case. In fact, one of "them," a pretty young girl, risks her life to help him get back to his own side (he becomes lost). He can't forget the girl he met, can't forget her kindness and her needs. He feels he can help her, but is it the kind of help she'd welcome? That her family would welcome? The Wall gives readers an opportunity to see a boy's social awareness awaken. Joshua begins to think, deeply think about the world around him, to test what he's been taught, to make his own decisions about what is right and what is wrong.

Read The Wall

• If you enjoy thought-provoking coming-of-age stories

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Bliss (2012)

Bliss. Kathryn Littlewood. 2012. HarperCollins. 374 pages.

I enjoyed reading Kathryn Littlewood's Bliss. This middle grade fantasy was quite fun. Bliss is set in a small town where the Bliss family has a bakery. The parents have named their children: Thyme (Ty), Rosemary (our heroine), Sage, and Parsley (Leigh). The Bliss family has a secret, a secret that Rosemary hasn't always known. The family is magical, their is a bit of magic in each recipe. These magical spells help the town run smoothly. Soon after the novel begins, the parents are called away to another town to handle an emergency. The parents leave their children and Chip in charge of the bakery. Though Rosemary has recently been trusted with a key, she's also warned by her parents NOT to look into the family's secret cookbook. "Aunt" Lily has been waiting for such an opportunity. Rose's parents haven't been gone very long at all when this new relative appears ready to help them all. Is she trustworthy? Well, Rosemary doesn't really think so. But. She sure does know how to flatter every single member of the family. NO one has ever made Rose feel so special...

Most of the book is the misadventures resulting when the children are disobedient and try to do magic on their own. Things get quite messy!

Read Bliss

• If you enjoy children's books with a cooking theme
• If you enjoy children's fantasy novels 

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Treasure Island (1883)

Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson. 1883. 311 pages.

I was surprised by how much I liked Treasure Island. I didn't really expect it to be my kind of book. And, in a way, it still isn't. (I'm not going to feel the same devotion to Jim Hawkins that I feel for Anne Shirley.) But it is a GOOD adventure story. Plenty of drama, action, adventure, surprise, and danger. It is a life-or-death adventure book abounding with good guys and bad guys.

Jim Hawkins is our hero. Though he isn't always confident in his abilities to be A HERO, Hawkins is the hero that he needs to be when it counts, the hero he needs to be in order to save the day. Jim Hawkins' father owned an inn. One day a former pirate (Billy Bones) comes for an extended stay at the inn. He hires the young boy (Jim) to be on the lookout for a one-legged pirate (Long John Silver). He does NOT want to meet up with this pirate--or really any other pirate for that matter. But he is found by a few pirates before long. Jim's life is messy in that his own father is dying and this pirate is dying; the same doctor sees after both men. The pirate brought with him a sea chest (with a treasure map). Having this chest at the inn brings danger and excitement. Eventually it takes Hawkins to sea with others--some good guys, some bad guys--all in search for this treasure on an island. Of course, the good guys aren't aware that the others are "bad" and have murderous intentions. But readers learn this information right along with Hawkins...

While the novel is interesting before they reach the island, the book REALLY becomes interesting once they reach the island.

Read Treasure Island

• If you like watching pirate movies or reading pirate stories
• If you like adventure stories
• If you like coming-of-age stories

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Center of Everything (2013)

The Center of Everything. Linda Urban. 2013. Harcourt. 208 pages.

I was not disappointed with Linda Urban's newest novel, The Center of Everything. While I didn't love, love, love it to the same degree as I loved A Crooked Kind of Perfect (a book I read twice in one week because it was just that good), I still found myself loving The Center of Everything.

Ruby Pepperdine is the heroine of The Center of Everything. We meet her on a big day, the day she's part of the town's parade. She'll be reading her winning essay to the waiting crowd. Winning is something that she definitely didn't expect. Then again, a lot of unexpected things have been happening: her grandmother dying, a growing distance between herself and her best friend, her newly developed friendship with a boy, and that's not to mention the wish...

Readers get flashes from the past bringing the story to life. We learn chapter by chapter what is going right and what is going wrong in this young girl's life.

The Center of Everything is a great coming of age story; it captures some of the emotions of being eleven-going-on-twelve.

Read the Center of Everything

• If you are a fan of Linda Urban
• If you enjoy middle grade fiction with a focus on friendship and family
• If you enjoy coming of age stories
• If you are looking for a MG title about grief
• If you are looking for a 'summer' book

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews