"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate"

Ever since I read "Heaven is Here..." by Stephanie Nielson, I've been checking in on her blog every now and then. In one of her posts, she mentioned this being one of her new favorite books. I was planning a 20 hour drive to see my parents and saw this in the audio books section at the library and thought it would be perfect for my trip.

Calpurnia Tate is 11 in 1899 and is the only girl in a family of all boys. Her mother is intent on making her more domestic in the arts of homemaking, but Calpurnia has much different interests. She is fascinated with the world around her and why things are the way they are. As she explores her world, she begins to also see her grandfather in a much different light.

I loved being able to listen to this book- especially when I was all alone in my car for hours at a time! :) It's a great book for girls that are more interested in things other than what the social norm expects of them. However, I felt like it smacked a little too much of feminist ideals. Calpurnia is constantly asking why: "Why can't girls be scientists? Why do girls have to stay home and cook and knit?". Questions that I'm sure girls had during that time period, but I don't know. Something about it just made me think the author may have been trying too hard to let girls know they can be anything they can.

Anyway, other than that little bit, it was a great book. I laughed out loud a couple of times at the wit and humor the author displays and loved the characters' development throughout the story.

"Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt

"Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt

A friend suggested this title to me because she knows I've been interested in biographies/memoirs lately.  I'm really glad she told me about "Angela's Ashes" because it was a gritty, honest story.  It took a little while to get used to McCourt's voice because the style of this book is completely different from the  majority of books I've read.  Once I got used to his cadence I felt I could hear his voice and see through his eyes as he recalled his childhood and adolescent anecdotes.

McCourt was born of Irish parents in New York in 1930.  When his infant sister died, the family returned to Ireland to be close to family.  But survival was a bigger challenge in Ireland than anything they had faced in New York.  McCourt accounts the challenges of growing up in Limerick, Ireland with a Yankee accent and having a father from the north and therefore distrusted in Limerick.  McCourt's father's alcoholism forced the family to live in ruin for years because he drank every rare penny that fell into his hands.

This was one of those books that made me ask myself where do I get off complaining about my insignificant problems when countless people like the McCourts had to endure inexpressible poverty, living life as the dregs of Irish society.  Similar to "Unbroken," this book made me ask myself how much can a man endure and survive and come out of it a decent, compassionate person. People are beautiful, as his is a genuine "diamond-in-the-rough" story.  His words and perceptions could be delicate and insightful despite the coarseness of his environment and upbringing.  Overall I appreciated how he was able to tell his story in a straightforward way, almost charging like a train, saying it how it happened and not thinking too much about it or what it meant.  It was what it was and then there was something new to share.  

One of the things I admire about McCourt's story is he didn't directly say he was hungry or he missed his father.  Just talking about the lack of food and his father's absence was enough for me to feel the keen aches and loneliness.

I'll confess it got a little too raw when he got to his puberty and adolescence and he divulged all the things boys experience during that phase.  I appreciate that it was a part of his development and story, but I wish it hadn't been so prominent the last third of the book.  And I was disappointed by the end.  It made sense to end when McCourt returned to America, but to wrap up the story with a romp with a married woman his first night off the boat's just to conclude with, "Isn't this a great country altogether?"  I mean, really?  I would have expected something with more sincerity and not so base to segue from the first 20-some-odd years of his Irish life to a new start in America.  

"Big Stone Gap" by Adriana Trigiani

"Big Stone Gap"

First off, the author's name is a mouthful!  Can you say that five times fast?  I can't.  Oye!

This is a darling story about 35-year-old Ave Maria Mulligan, who lives in the small Appalachian town Big Stone Gap, Virginia.  She's resigned her role in life to be the town's summer play director, pharmacist, and spinster.  But shortly after her mother's death, secrets about Ave Maria and her mother begin to surface, changing how Ave perceives who she is, who were parents were, and where she came from.  With new understanding about herself, Ave has to decide what to with the new version of herself.

This book was thoroughly entertaining.  I've talked about a book drawing me in, like water being absorbed into a sponge.  This book did it from page one.  The characters are genuinely characters!  Each one is unique and genuine and play their role in the town.  I loved the quirkiness of the town population, the genuine feel of community.  

I loved Ave.  I'm a 32-year-old married woman, but there were many things I could relate to with Ave.  It's a woman thing.  No matter where we live or our situation in life, there are things we're going to relate to.  I'm a woman and I love a romance story that exists for the sake of the romance, for the chase and the mystery and drama.  This story dives into family relationships, and I found a lot of truth in what Ave discovers about a grown-up child's relationship with his/her parents.

I love what Ave learns about her Italian heritage.  My grandmother was a first-generation Italian-American, and a lot of the things Trigiani describes as Italian characteristics I have often seen in myself, such as being very expressive and talking with my hands.  Little things like that my husband doesn't understand about me, but I don't know how to communicate with the world without those habits!  hah!

I enjoyed everything about this book.  For the sensitive reader, I'll warn you there are some sexually suggestive passages, mild language, and pre-marital intimacy.  

There are three more books about Ave Maria:  "Big Cherry Holler," "Milk Glass Moon," and "Home to Big Stone Gap."  I'd love to read more about Ave.  As I've learned more about Trigiani, I'm excited by the number of highly acclaimed books she's written--and I'm surprised I've never heard of her before.  I think this is an author I'd like to explore more.  You should, too.

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

"Unbroken"

I took AP US History in high school, but I don't remember much at all what I learned about WWII.  And what tidbits I do remember all evolve around the European side of it.  Sadly, most of what I know about America's involvement in the Pacific side of WWII comes from the 2001 movie "Pearl Harbor."  Yup, my familiarity with history is pretty sad.

After several recommendations, I finally decided to try "Unbroken."  I actually had it loaded on my iPod for months and months, but didn't start listening to it until a few weeks ago.  It was a wonderful reading by actor Edward Hermann (I recognized his voice, but looked over his filmography and the only movie of his I've seen is "Overboard"--funny I remember his voice from such an obscure and long-ago appearance).  

"Unbroken" is the life story of Louis Zamperini, a first-generation American born of Italian parents.  He was a hellion as a boy, causing his parents great amounts of angst and frustration.  As a young man, his older brother Pete trained him up as a runner, and he found state- and nation-wide recognition for his achievements on the track, ultimately forming him into an Olympic runner in the Berlin games of 1936.

With the onset of the war Louis was called up to serve as a bombardier and served several successful missions over the Pacific.  One sad day his plane was gunned down and he and two of his crewmen were stranded on a raft in the ocean for 47 days.  They were taken prisoners of war by the Japanese, and the following years of interrogation and POW camps where horrific and difficult to comprehend.  But the Japanese lost and Louis finally went home, believed dead by the military for years.  

His post-war recovery was gruesome, but he finally found hope in Jesus Christ through a tent revival by none other than Billy Graham.  He repaired his life and committed himself to helping troubled boys, much like his brother had helped him when he was young.

The strongest impression I got from this book was, "How much more can a man live through?"  I listened to the audio book, like I've mentioned, and it had a total of 214 tracks.  I kept watching as I progressed through the story as it got more and more incredible, stretching the imagination almost by the minute.  And then I'd see how many tracks were left in the story, my jaw dropping to see how much of the story was left to be told.  Again and again I wondered what else a man could endure and still survive.

I'm not prone to tears when I read, but "Unbroken" brought me close so many times.  The Bird.  That's all I will say.  This book will change the way you think about humanity.

Click here to read Micaela's review of "Unbroken."

"A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

"A Single Shard"

Tree-ear is an orphaned boy living under a bridge with his older friend in a village of Korea known for it's beautiful and unique celadon pottery. He is fascinated by the potter's art, especially the work of one potter in particular- Min.

This book was a pleasant and easy read, but I felt like it was a little bit too predictable. It seemed to be on a more simplistic plane than most Newbery books that I've read. I wonder if the award was given based off the cultural aspect of the novel. I did enjoy getting a little peek into the Korean culture and I could picture the pottery vividly in my mind. I would love to see some! I think the message of the book is that with hard work, strong morals and good ethics, that you can find yourself and have a sense of belonging in the world. At least that's what I got out of it. :)

Definitely not a 5 star book in my opinion, but if you're looking for an entertaining and quick read, then I'd say try it.

Books...the ultimate TV spoiler alert!

One more time!

I needed something to make me laugh...