Freedom

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this in one weekend, although it's almost 600 pages long. Mainly because I flew cross country in the same weekend and had 12 hours to kill on planes and airports. I felt like I was immersed in the family drama of the Berglands and when I surfaced, I felt like I'd lived a few lifetimes. This is mainly due to Franzen's wonderful writing, that draws you and makes you care for (almost) all his characters. The novel is (not surprisingly) about Freedom--what it really means to be free, the sacrifices we make in the name in freedom, and how we may not really want the freedom we're all so desperate for. At one point, the husband, Walter, meets up with his homeless, alcoholic brother, Mitch, who spends his days fishing--he has no responsibility, no cares--"I'm only good at taking care of me," he declares. Walter replies, "You're a free man." "That I am." And yet, who would envy a drunk by the river?

The only character I didn't care for was the son, Joey. His chapters were filled with more post-adolescent sexual angst than I cared to know about. Besides, I never quite understood what changed him from selfish and self-serving to being the great husband/son he became. There is a bit too much ranting, and most of the characters go through a period of depression which can be depressing to read, but all in all it is a believeable, interesting family drama.



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Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Yes, Alyssa, you told me not to read this book, but after reading all of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels with my kids, I was itching to read a grown-up retelling of Greek gods in the modern day. Besides, with kids named after Greek gods how could I not read it?

Yes, the gods are very naughty and their lives are so miserable and boring it makes you rethink what being a god actually means. But it was a light, funny read--I laughed out loud serveral times--and at the core is a love story so sweet and pure you just have to root for them. I'll admit that the gods complaining about how decrepit their house is, and how boring their lives are can be a more than a little boring and redundant to the reader. But in the end, there is a hero, a battle (sort of), and a happily ever after--so it's all good.



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Life as We Knew It

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a recommended book for my upcoming 7th grader. It's the diary of a 16-year-old that chronicles her life before and after an astroid hits the moon and knocks it closer to earth. Tsunamis and earthquakes and volcanos begin to ravage the earth. Miranda, her brothers Matt and Jon, and her Mom must deal with one catastrophe after another. My daughter and I had a great discussion about what Miranda cared and worried about before the moon was struck, and what she cared and worried about after enduring so much. We also talked about the different ways her friends handled the situation: running away, becoming religious (and the ways religion could comfort us, and how we could turn religion around and think of bad things as God's punishment). I couldn't help but focus on "Mom" and how she had the forsight and determination to stockpile food, chop wood, conserve resources--preparing for the worst. (Next time you have to teach a self-reliance class and are looking for a new way to approach it, just assign this book--it makes you realize that even if you think you have enough food, you probably don't). I thought the characters were well-developed, and althought the situation was far out, the reaction to the situation was very real. In the end, there is a (somewhat) happy ending that was a little contrived but that's why we like our YA books.



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Nothing But the Truth

Nothing but the Truth by Avi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm bribing my kids to read their recommended books for the summer from school by promising them lunch out if they read one. The idea was to get them to read their books and having a discussion while enjoying lunch out. My soon-to-be 8th grader opted for $5 instead, but he still had to disscuss it with me. It was an fast, easy read with "documents" and discussions in transcript form--no internal dialouge, no adverbs to describe how the person said something. What was interesting was how much information a conversation or letter could convey even without these descriptors. And it was a great book to use to discuss what the "truth" was, and how individual circumstances could change the "truth" people saw. It was also insightful to discuss "rules" and "rights" with my teen, and I was surprised by where his sympathies lay. This is such an easy read and yet has a lot of discussion points, I would recommend it for a teen book club.



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Throne of Fire

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I have to admit I like the Greek gods best...That being said, this is a fine adventure taken by Sadie and Carter to reawaken Ra to help annhilate Apophis, the god of Chaos and prevent the end of the world. Its mythology can be a little dense sometimes and Sadie's love triangle between a boy who is dying and the god of death, not to mention Carter's obsession with an Egyptian magician, seem a little beyond their 13 and 14 years--but maybe I just don't remember what it's like to be young. I will say that my kids struggled to make it through this book without getting distracted by other books--they said the chapters were too long. Honestly, I think Riordan could have done better by beefing up the mythology, enriching the language alot, adding older heros and marketing it to adults.



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Room

Room by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The premise doesn't sound inviting--a woman kidnapped and held prisoner for 7 years in an 11 x 11 room, who bore her kidnapper's child and raised him as best she could in her circumstances. But it is told from her 5 year old son's point of view, which not only makes it palatable, but fascinating. The book sucks you immediately into this other worldly setting, and you are amazed at the courage and strength of Ma. The climax comes early in the book, and it is so good, I was racing home from dropping the kids off to finish it. The latter part of the book lags a bit, and there are some inconsistencies, but all in all this is a book I would highly reccommend--great for a book club read.



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The Lonely Polgamist

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My curiousity about modern polygamy peaked about 3 years ago, and I thought the discussion/creative plot-lines with this genre were pretty much exhausted, so I wasn't inclined to pick this book up. Even when it was on best-of lists last year, I didn't bite. But then my BSU alumni magazine came out and a quick browse showed Brady Udall and his much lauded book...I didn't look close enough to realize that Udall teaches at BSU--I thought he had graduated from BSU and so I ran right out to see what a product of my alma matar could produce.

Turns out, it is a pretty good family drama. Although I could never fully sympathize with Golden Richards, the patriarch of this little tribe--he is too passive, too timid, and phlegmatic to really be someone to root for--he probably isn't too different from people we actually know.

The opening scene has Golden arriving home from a long drive, needing desperately to pee, but unable to find an unoccupied bathroom in a house with 3 wives and 27 children. Normally, I roll my eyes at the shock-value authors use to describe bodily functions in the first chapter--which seems to becoming a trend--but this was actually one of the funniest scenes in the book.

The rest of the book is told alternately from a wife's, a child's, and Golden's point of view. Perhaps the most sympathetic (and fully realized) character is the child Rusty, who is misunderstood and only craves a little love from anyone who has time to give it. I couldn't help wondering if Udall doesn't resent growing up in a big family (he dedicated his book to his 8 brothers and sisters)for while he treats the religion with a sort of sympathetic objectivity, he drives the point home again and again that a family that size cannot meet the emotional needs of anyone. Love can only be so big...

Explosions, both literal and figurative, play prominent roles in the plots and I can almost make the connection (because there obviously is one) but if it's beyond the illustration of the volatility of man, I haven't quite worked it out yet.



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