Tag Archive | brothers

My Brother’s Shadow (fiction)

Dec21

To keep your family alive…
would you lie?
would you cheat?
would you steal?

Germany’s people go to sleep hungry in 1918, as young men and old men go to fight in the Great War. Kaiser Wilhelm assures them that the war is almost won – his lies do not fill empty bellies or heal maimed soldiers.

Moritz does all he can to support his mother, sister, and grandmother with his older brother Hans still fighting in the trenches, their father dead in the war. What about his dreams of becoming a writer?

We stand in the ration lines with Hedwig, hear the radical speeches at secret meetings, and see protesters cut down by government police as Moritz struggles to make sense of his world. Schroder, author of Saraswati’s Way (review), accurately portrays defeated Germany as the seeds of its future actions toward Jews and the rest of the world are planted in the bitterness of the War’s closing days.
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Book info: My Brother’s Shadow / Monika Schroeder. Frances Foster Books/FSG, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Moritz knows he’s lucky to work at the printers – Berlin in 1918 is a place of hunger and desperation. Older brother Hans is now fighting on the Western Front, leaving the 16-year-old as head of their household; Father died at Verdun in the early days of this Great War.

His mother and sister trudge home day after day, reeking of chemicals from the munitions factory, chilled to the bone from standing in ration lines that shortchange them on food. The British have successfully blockaded all German ports for 4 years now.

The Kaiser says that Germany is winning the war, but secret meetings of the social democrats call for public demonstrations to end the fighting. Moritz discovers that his mother not only attends these forbidden meetings, but is a leader in the anti-war movement, now hunted by the police.

Desperate to feed his family, Moritz is pulled into his brother’s old gang of thieves, stealing from rich men’s brimming pantries and bakers’ dwindling supplies of chalk-tainted flour. He meets a young lady in an unfamiliar neighborhood and wonders if there will ever be a peaceful time to discuss books with Rebecca Cohen.

A letter in unfamiliar handwriting arrives – Hans has been wounded badly. Will he survive? Will the Kaiser really agree to an Armistice to end the war? Can mother and Hedwig stay safe in the protest marches? Revolution? Is more fighting the answer to everything?

This compelling story takes readers into Germany’s dark times during the closing months of World War I, when anti-Semitism began to take root and the massive reparations demanded by the Allies would cripple the Germany economy for decades. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Zahra’s Paradise (fiction)

Nov30

Fraudulent elections.
Violence against protesters.
Hospitals invaded by the Revolutionary Guard.

World Wednesday takes us to Iran in the bloody days following the June 2009 elections which were manipulated by the powerful Supreme Guardian Council. Hundreds of thousands of students descended on Freedom Square in Tehran to demonstrate – many never returned home.

This unflinching graphic novel began as a webcomic about an anonymous Iranian blogger attempting to let the outside world know how Iranians felt about the election results. His family’s search for Mahdi represents all the missing students and the agonies suffered by their families while searching for them. Two chapters are still available on the book’s website with translations in ten languages.

Amir and Khalil also include information on the Omid Memorial, “hope” in Persian, which collects the names and stories of those who have perished in Iran while standing up for human rights since the 1979 Khomeini revolution.

Strong feelings, unfettered language, detailed black and white art – Zahra’s Paradise is not for the faint of heart, but is a call for human rights and freedom.
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Book info: Zahra’s Paradise / written by Amir; artwork by Khalil. First Second, 2011. [book website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Iran, summer 2009 – students protest against rigged elections, and Alavi’s brother doesn’t come home. It makes no sense; Mehdi was studying for his final exams so he wasn’t out partying. As Alavi and his mother search Tehran’s hospitals in this graphic novel, their despair deepens – is Mehdi one the many who have disappeared into Evin Prison, that horror of abuse and degradation?

Alavi prints up missing person posters with Mehdi’s picture, meeting a sympathetic copy shop owner near the university and a beautiful woman who reminds him of well-respected Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. In 2003, Zahra was taken into Evin Prison for questioning and came out in a coffin. Chief Justice Mortazavi said she had tripped; an autopsy showed that she had been tortured and raped.

Swirling connections of corrupt officials and powerful politicians continue to block every avenue that the Alavis pursue in search of Mehdi. The few people who dare to help them are well aware of the risks involved, but what decent person wants another dead son dumped into an unmarked grave in Lot 309? Ah, Zahra’s Paradise, the cemetery named for the wife of the Prophet, has a growing hidden section that no one publicly mentions.

This intense graphic novel about struggle, power, and loss is a brutal testimony to the thousands of Iranians who asked for free elections and were silenced. The closing pages of the book contain their names, page after page in the smallest readable font, as part of the Omid Memorial, so that they may not be forgotten, even though their final resting places be unknown. It is no wonder that the author and artist published this compelling story using only fictitious first names.

Legend (fiction)

Nov28

Elite soldiers and expendable worker drones.
Iffy electrical power and repeated plagues.
Endless slums and a handful of luxury apartments.

Future Los Angeles is a far cry from today’s sunny tourist destination. Most of its 20 million people are doomed to slums because of their mediocre Trial scores at age 10. Those who score too low are removed by the Government as a useless burden on society.

Scoring well on the Trial means high school and college and a good position in the Elector’s own police force. June is the only person who ever made a perfect score and has raced through all her classes in just four years, getting ready to stand as an officer on the front lines with her brother Metias.

When he is murdered by the notorious teen-criminal Day, who’s survived on his own since escaping from prison after his failed Trial, June’s hunger for revenge and Day’s drive to protect his impoverished family set the pair on a collision course with consequences that no one could envision.

Scheduled for Nov. 29 publication, so grab the first book in the Legend trilogy at your nearest indie bookstore tomorrow!
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Book info: Legend / Marie Lu. Putnam, 2011. [author’s website] [series website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: No one expected a 10-year-old to break out of prison like Day did. No one expected a 10-year-old to get a perfect Trial score like June did either. Future Los Angeles only educates the very brightest – the middling ones become drudge labor, the Trial failures are turned over to government prisons or research labs.

Now 14, June is bored with her military college classes and longs to be on active duty full-time like her older brother Metias. Her parents would be so proud of them both, if they were still living… When Metias is killed on a routine patrol, June is not sure she can keep on living, but duty to the Elector keeps her going.

Day moves along the fringes of underground society, stealing supplies to keep his family alive in the slums, even though they think he’s gone forever. Fleetingly captured on security cameras, Day’s exploits against government stations are becoming legendary, even though no one knows exactly who he is.

Another plague is stalking the poor areas of the city, and Day spies as his family’s house is marked with the infected-quarantine mark. Now, getting the plague suppressant for his brother is Day’s main concern – and that means infiltrating high-security hospital labs undetected.

As Day searches for the medicine, the police continue searching for Day. June is assigned to the case and takes to the streets in disguise, trying to capture this renegade before he becomes more of a folk-hero in the slums.

The more Day learns about this plague, the more worried he is for his family. The more June learns about Day, the more she questions the Republic’s actions.

Was Day involved in Metias’s death? Why are the plagues so common in the City? Will June find answers in her brother’s journals or just more questions?

Leap into a gritty future adventure with Legend, recounted by Day and June in alternating chapters, first in a series. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby (book review) – deadly secrets in the ice, sent by the gods?

Nov2

As the glacier above the wooden fortress creaks and groans…
As the fjord begins to ice over, with no word from home…
As the royal children and their guardians realize that treachery is locked into their hiding place with them…

Our world Wednesday book takes us to the far North and far, far back in time, when the people who would become the Vikings battle winter’s fiercest blasts sent by the gods, as well as attacks from mere mortals.

Singing odes of gods and kings, reshaping history to suit the ears of the victors, skalds tell countless stories from memory. Is it Solveig’s destiny to walk the storytellers’ path, instead of being a dutiful daughter to the king?

Another wonderful, unusual tale from Matthew J. Kirby, who brought us The Clockwork Three (my review here).
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Book info: Icefall / Matthew J. Kirby. Scholastic, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site]

My Book Talk: Solveig wonders if winter will trap them in the mountain fort, waiting for word that her father has defeated an attacking king, listening to the glacier creak, worrying, worrying.

The king had sent her, her young brother the crown prince, and her older sister Asa away from the battle for their safety. When his best warriors arrive to protect them in the hidden fortress, Solveig knows that the berserkers would rather be fighting alongside her father instead of guarding them as the fjord ices over.

As the cold nights grow longer, the king’s storyteller gives them tales of the gods and of great battles. The skald finds that Solveig has an ear for story and a memory for detail – would she like to learn the storytelling arts? Finally, something worthwhile for this middle child – not pretty enough to marry off to forge an alliance, not a boy to be a warrior-prince.

A sudden outbreak of illness in the fort – a curse? Poison? The plague? Secrets told, promises broken, tempers flaring among the restless warriors. Will their father triumph over the invader who tried to steal Asa as his bride instead of negotiating? Will young prince Harald survive the winter? Will any of them?

A story from the days when storytellers kept history and hope alive through their ballads and odes, Icefall brings readers to the glacier’s edge, watching with Solveig over the stormy sea, hoping that the sails in the distance bring news of victory instead of danger. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce (book review) – gingerbread house, werewolves on the prowl

Aug29

book cover of Sweetly by Jackson Pearce published by Little BrownWelcome to Mysterious Monday and a truly frightening retelling of a classic fairy tale.

The story of Hansel and Gretel really is scary when you look at it afresh, as candy, cakes and a gingerbread house lure children into mortal peril in the eerie forest of the witch.

Jackson Pearce has given the Grimm Brothers version a mordant twist as rumors of possible witches near a small Southern town turn out to be much worse than anyone feared.

Published just last week, Sweetly  will undoubtedly make the bestseller list – but you found it here first! Grab it at your local independent bookstore today, or get on the waiting list at your library – and lock your doors when you read it!
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Book info: Sweetly / Jackson Pearce. Little Brown, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: In the woods of their childhood, Gretchen and Ansel lost their sister – even as the three held hands and ran from the sounds, she was snatched away from them. Their mother died from grief, their father mourns still, their stepmother finally pushing the now-teen siblings out of their home.

Driving as far away as their old car and their savings will carry them, they roll to a stop near Live Oak, a small South Carolina community that’s dwindling away as modern life tempts its young people away to the big city. Young chocolate-maker Sophia invites them to stay with her at the charming sweetshop outside of town, lonely after her father and sister have left. Her candy creations taste magical; her hospitality is warm and authentic.

The townspeople of Live Oak are rather wary of the newcomers, but do warn them of strange occurrences in the woods near Sophia’s place and even about Sophia herself. The missing persons posters in the Post Office all feature older teen girls – if they just moved away to the city as Sophia says, why haven’t they contacted their families?

As Sophia’s famous girls-only chocolate festival approaches, Gretchen meets a young man who claims knowledge about the monsters in the woods, monsters that sound like the ones in her recurring nightmares about her twin’s disappearance.

Can Gretchen trust Samuel when folks in Live Oak say he’s part of the trouble in the woods? Is there a link between the chocolate festival and the disappearing teens? Have she and Ansel walked into a trap created by their own past?

Enjoy this spooky, enthralling take on the Hansel and Gretel story with the lights on, windows locked, and shades drawn against what may be lurking in the woods near your house! (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Now is the Time for Running, by Michael Williams (fiction) – soccer, escape, survival

Aug24

book cover of Now Is The Time For Running by Michael Williams published by Little BrownWorld Wednesday, and time to see what’s happening right now, the reality that doesn’t always make news headlines.

School, soccer, and time with friends – that’s what Deo’s life in Zimbabwe should be like. But as in too many places in the world, powerful forces take away his teenage dreams, take away his family, take away his future.

It’s up to Deo to help his older brother survive, as they avoid soldiers, wild animals, brutal prejudice, and the gangs of the big city. South African author Michael Williams shows us how hope tries to survive in the face of dire adversity – you won’t want to miss this book!
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Book info: Now is the Time for Running / Michael Williams. Little Brown, 2011. [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

My Book Talk: The soldiers didn’t care that the homemade soccer ball was Deo’s prized possession. They didn’t care that Deo’s village was hungry. They didn’t plan to leave anyone alive to complain…

Suddenly Deo and his older brother Innocent are on the run through the scrublands of Zimbabwe, fleeing the President’s soldiers – the President who fought for liberation from foreign rulers, like Grandfather did. It’s up to Deo to keep mentally disabled Innocent safe as they seek help from friends in Bikita, then trek onward toward the border, trying to find their father who was away when the soldiers came.

The dangers of crossing the river into South Africa, crossing the wild lands of the lions and hyenas, finding a place to hide in the city that wants no more refugees – how much can one teenager do?

Will Deo ever be able to just play soccer again? Or return to school? Or find a way out of the grim shanties and shadows to a place with soap and water so that Innocent can wash up and be happy again? Can he escape gangs and drugs and hatred all around him?

A compelling story based on the real lives of too many refugees in Africa, Now is the Time for Running starts in a faraway place and takes our hearts and minds even further.

My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star, by Joyce Raskin (fiction) – rock music greatness, high school freshman blues

Aug5

Fun Friday, especially for anyone who’s dreamed of being in a rock band.

Alexis has a bad case of teen dissatisfaction, cured by learning to play bass guitar and being in her brother’s rock band. And skateboarding, don’t forget her skateboarding.

A rock star at 14?! It’s up to Alexis to navigate around other people’s choices (bad and good) while staying true to herself.

Joyce Raskin knows what she’s writing about since she’s a bassist with the band Scarce (back together after time off for other projects) and even has a series of beginning guitar lessons for girls on YouTube! Rock on!

A fast, fun read that demands your favorite rock music in the background.
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Book info: My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star / Joyce Raskin, illustrated by Carol Chu. Graphia, 2011 [author’s Facebook page] [publisher website] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Uncoolness and zits, that’s life for Alexis, until her brother teaches her to play bass guitar for his band. Eventually, she masters the bass (blisters!). Eventually, her body catches up with other teen girls (at last!). Eventually, she has a boyfriend (yay!), then a heartbreak (cry!), then some fame (wow!), and some major disappointments (parents!).

Fast-moving chapters chronicle this eventful year in Alex’s life – her skateboarding and punk rock adventures, making a record with the band at age 14, her former-hippy parents supporting her big-time before going super-strict!

Written by a former teen-rocker (who still plays in a band!), Misadventures includes getting-started information about guitars, learning chords, writing songs, and sticking to your dreams – major girl power in a small package! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Devil’s Paintbox, by Victoria McKernan (fiction) – teens struggle on Western frontier

Jul28

book cover of Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan Life on the western frontier was far more difficult than the Little House on the Prairie books showed us.

Aiden and Maddy are the last surviving members of their family whose homesteading dreams turned into a row of graves on the bleak Kansas prairie.

Their unlikely savior is gruff Jackson, recruiting for the even-tougher demands of the Pacific Northwest’s logging camps, who only agrees to take along Maddy if Aiden signs on for an extra year of logging work to pay their way West.

Friendly Nez Perce, not-always-friendly U.S. Army soldiers, and the dreaded smallpox shadow the wagon train, as they traverse open range, strain up mountain grades, and struggle across rivers.

Aiden toughens up as they travel, but will he be able to hold his own against the roughs and rowdies of the lumber camps? Adventure, peril, and possibilities fill this gripping tale of the West.
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Book info: The Devil’s Paintbox / Victoria McKernan. Random House, 2009. [author bio] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: The shoe leather soup is gone, so Maddie and Aiden will starve to death soon, just as their family did on the Kansas prairie in 1865. But over the hill rides Jefferson J. Jackson, recruiting workers for the lumber camps in Washington.

He allows the teens to join the wagon train going west, warning them that “any way you can think up to die is out there waiting” on the trail. Aiden agrees that his first two years’ wages will go to Jackson in payment for their travel, and they head west, away from the graves on the hillside, away from the dried-up homestead.

Jackson is all too correct, and dangers face the travelers day and night – rampaging rivers to cross, wolves stalking them, Indians who might attack, and diseases with no cures.

Aiden works with his bow and arrow, bringing in deer and rabbits for his sister Maddie to cook. He meets friendly Indians who cross their trail from time to time, teaching him bareback horse riding and improving his hunting skills.

But soon smallpox, “the Devil’s Paint”, appears at a nearby fort, and the deadly disease threatens them all. The wagon train’s doctor soon runs out of medicines, the Indians blame government-issued blankets for the epidemic, and survival is now a gamble for everyone.

Will Aiden make it to the lumber camp? How will a scrawny, malnourished 15-year-old keep up with strong men and dangerous work? Smallpox is just the first challenge that he must face as he tries to live long enough to grow up. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Crosswire, by Dotti Enderle (book review) – Texas drought & water wars in 1880s

Jul21

It’s seriously hot and dry in Texas right now, but not quite as bad as the drought that Jesse and his family are suffering through in 1880s West Texas.

It’s a tough time for all cattlemen, but worse for those without access to windmills pumping well water into storage tanks, as the creeks and ponds dry up. So dishonest cattle drovers are cutting barbed wire fences to get at the stored water, leaving little for their family’s cattle.

Mysterious strangers, mutterings at the saloon, his brother’s sudden love of gambling, and having to repair the fences every single blistering-hot day – how can Jesse keep doing all this when he just can’t bring himself to even carry a gun any more? Jesse’s not enjoying how life is treating him in this quick read with a surprise ending.

For a longer story about the too-similar 1950s drought in West Texas, try Elmer Kelton’s well-crafted The Time It Never Rained.
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Book info: Crosswire / Dotti Enderle. Calkins Creek Books, 2010. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Drought is the cattleman’s enemy, so renegade drovers are cutting the fences to get to ranchers’ ponds and watering holes. Jesse works with his pa and older brother to repair the barbed-wire fences day after day in the scorching heat, worrying that his family’s food crops will dry up, too.

Big brother Ethan is another worry, spending his nights gambling at the saloon in town – where did the 16-year-old get money to gamble with, anyway? Their stern pa won’t put up with such nonsense, throwing Ethan out of the house and breaking Ma’s heart.

And 13-year-old Jesse just can’t fire a gun any more – not after his accident, not at an attacking rattlesnake, not for anything. What good is a kid who won’t shoot, out on the 1880s Texas frontier? The fence-cutters are getting bolder, making terrible threats against Jesse’s family and dog and their cattle.

Who’s this Jackson guy that Pa hires to help out?
Where is he headed every night after dark?
What does Jackson know about the fence-cutters?

Barbed-wire sharp and prairie wind fast, Crosswire is an exciting western tale based on true events of Texas history.(One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

WorldCat find library: http://www.worldcat.org/libraries

IndieBound store finder: http://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder

Clarity, by Kim Harrington (book review) – psychic gift or curse?

Jun20

book cover of Clarity by Kim HarringtonIt’s a mystical Monday. What’s your ideal summer job? Bet it’s not like Clare’s, where “the family business” uses the psychic gifts of the Ferns.

Her brother loves summer, when he can romance the visiting girls – what local high school girl would date a guy who gets messages from dead people?

The Ferns can tell tourists about hidden things which have happened in the past, but the new psychic in town starts taking away their customers by promising that she can predict the future.

Add a murder to the summer crowds during an election year, and suddenly Clare’s gift for psychometry is in demand by the local authorities.

Kim Harrington says that Perception (Clarity #2) is due out in March 2012. Hope YA paranormal fans can wait that long! (She’s also writing a middle grades detective series, due out next summer).
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Book info: Clarity / by Kim Harrington. Point (Scholastic), 2011. [author’s website] [author’s blog] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Book Talk: Just another summer at the family psychic business, where Clare sees what happened with an object by just touching it, brother Perry sees spirits, and Mom hears people’s thoughts. They can’t predict the future, but Cape Cod tourists wanting answers keep them in business.

Too bad the town residents aren’t as accepting of the Ferns – Clarity and Periwinkle (named by hippie parents) have been bullied and scorned ever since their gifts began to manifest. Just another year of high school and they can escape to somewhere else… especially after Clare’s only boyfriend cheated on her.

A murder – the first in decades –shocks everyone on the Fourth of July weekend. The mayor is up for re-election and asks Clare to help the police find clues. So she’s stuck with the mayor’s son (her ex-boyfriend) and the new detective’s son (completely anti-psychics) as she visits the murder scene… and finds that Perry was with the woman before she died! He assures Clare that he did not kill the woman, but they’re not sure that the police will understand visions instead of evidence.

On tourist row, a new psychic arrives, saying she can foretell the future and luring clients away from the Ferns. Perry disappears when a witness states that he was seen leaving a restaurant with the victim. Clare’s worst bullies boast about inside knowledge, then vanish.

How can Clare keep working with Justin when she still can’t forgive him? How can she convince Gabe that her visions are the truth (without telling too much)? Can Clare find the real killer without becoming the next victim? (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)