A Book to Hook Male Readers

Even the dead tell stories.

This is the first line in Marcus Sedgwick's Printz honor book Revolver. I was anxious to read this after reading the summary, and it didn't disappoint (I think I read it in less than two hours). Part history, part adventure, part mystery, the tale alternate between action in 1899, 1900, and 1910, and ultimately ends with a "closing" in 1967. Set in the Artic wilderness the novel tells the story of Sig and his family who, led by his father, settle in the cold north in search of gold. When the novel opens, Sig's father has just died having fallen through the ice on his way home.

Yet, how could the father, who knows the rules of traveling across the frozen lake make such a stupid mistake?

The reason for his blunder becomes evident less than a day after the father dies when a scary, mysterious stranger arrives calling for what he is owed by the father. And, he refuses to leave unless he gets what he wants. But, what is it?

The "it" is the purpose of the flashbacks to 1899-1900. The reader begins to trace the father and family's past and travels. Yet, Sedgwick is careful not to show his hand too much. We slowly begin to realize that Sig's father must have cheated his bosses during his job as an assay clerk (one who tests and measures the gold the prospectors find). But how? And how did Sig's father "cheat" the mystery man?

The answers to those questions are saved for the end of the book--and ending that boys will surely get to in order to find out!

Traveling Back in Time

I had high hopes for this book. I mean, just look at the cover. And when you go to Holt's website and click on this title, there's a lovely old-timey, bluegrassy song playing that gets you in the mood.

The story is set in 1800s Missouri, during the time when newly-emigrated Americans are heading west in search of land and luck. Amos Kincaid is the central character, and he's ready for some good luck. His mom, Delilah, dies during childbirth, and his Dad--a trapper--hands him off to his brother for long seasons of time, only to come back and claim him years and years later. The story stretches over many years, and many miles, as Amos's dad, Jake, becomes a scout for a group of families traveling west to Oregon's Wilamette Valley. When Jake returns to Missouri for Amos, it's to bring Amos on the trip west with him.

The traveling west stuff is good and interesting, providing historical and realistic details about the great Western Migration. But the thing is--Amos and his Dad, Jake, are "dowsers," which means they have a magical gift of being able to locate water in the ground. This is a big help to families looking to settle, as many want to be close to water. Jake hates being a dowser, and only uses his gift when he needs to provide for his family. Amos eventually, as an older man, embraces the gift and eventually is able to provide for his family and community.

I really wanted to see Holt do more with this magical element of the story--maybe build up the tension between the son and father's differing views on their gifts, or make it a story, maybe, about the use of natural resources, and the power man has in making decisions about how individuals/communities use life-giving resources.

And what's up with Delilah--Amos's mom?? Before she dies, you get the sense that she's pretty powerful in her own right--there's always birds around when she's in the picture, and a group of mockingbirds attack her abusive dad, Eb, at one point. When she finds out she's pregnant with Amos, she has a dream that he gets passed down from woman to woman, and Amos does, losing a sense of home and family, only to figure out he can redefine those things on his own. What's cool is that each woman who becomes Amos's surrogate mom "sees" Delilah's ghost, as if Delilah is checking in, making sure Amos is properly tended to. She finally disappears when Amos becomes a man, which the reader learns has nothing to do with age but the choices we make. I wanted more Delilah, and I wanted more dowsing, so overall, I left this book feeling like I didn't know what it wanted to be about.

I think if teachers want a good middle-grades historical fiction book about early US settlement and western migration, this is a good one to have around. I think it would make a good pair, too, with We Never Speak of It: Idaho-Wyoming Poems, 1889-1890, a book of poems about Pioneer women and children's experiences during the Western Migration.

Boy YAL 2010

Hope any blog readers in the Knoxville area can make the "Best of the New, So Far" YAL workshop this Friday, but if not, here's some info. about some of the books for younger (upper middle grades) male readers I'll be talking about.

Missing in Action, by Dean Hughes

Jay’s dad, who is part Navajo, is Missing in Action (MIA) as he fights in WWII. When Jay and his mom move in with Jay’s grandparents in a new town (Delta, Utah), Jay builds up his dad to be a sports and military hero who will one day return. But who is Jay’s dad, really? Why is his mom always in a bad mood? And what will Jay’s new friends think when they find out he’s working with a “Jap” on his grandfather’s farm?

Heavy, complex themes abound in this book, but they're handled in a graceful, understated way. Reminded me a bit of Ann Burg's All the Broken Pieces.

This one would make a good addition to WWII-themed small-group literature circles, with Judy Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied, Sherri Smith’s Flygirl, Mal Peet’s Tamar, Virginia Euwer Wolff’s Bat 6, and Cynthia Fletcher’s Ten Cents a Dance.

Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick

It's the early 1900s, it's cold as all-get-out (Arctic wilderness cold), and Sig's dad, Einar, has been a bad boy. So bad that he's being hunted by someone doubly bad, the "Bear Man." But before Bear Man can get to Einar, Einar dies mysteriously, leaving his son, Sig, and daughter, Anna, to deal with the consequences of their father's actions. When Bear Man finally does show up, Sig remembers his dad's old revolver that's hidden away...if he can just get it and distract Bear Man long enough, maybe he can take care of the brute once and for all. But it's never that easy, is it?

In spare, minimalist language (reminiscent of Paulsen, Hemingway, and Jack London), Revolver gets in your blood and stays there. Short, suspenseful chapters will keep readers interested, but the back and forth in time may confuse some. Reminded me a bit of Per Patterson's Out Stealing Horses. Would make a cool one-act play.

Woods Runner, by Gary Paulsen

Speaking of (short) bears, Gary Paulsen was in Knoxville not too long ago. It was the first time I'd ever heard him speak, and I loved him immediately. He kinda reminds me of Santa Claus. I'll forgive him his politics for a couple of reasons (he had good things to say about Sarah Palin, his fellow statesman): 1) I think he's a reformed beaver hunter and I'm sure he loves dogs; 2) he can spin a good yarn; 3) he's funny, and 4) his own childhood story about seeing his name on a library card for the first time (something he could actually call his own--he grew up dirt poor), and being turned onto books by someone who believed in him is so dang inspiring. I love this guy! And look what he's done for young (male) readers! I think he made it cool to read before reading was cool. I mean, remember the first time you read Hatchet?!?

So, in Paulsen's latest, readers meet thirteen-year-old Samuel, who lives in the Pennsylvania woods at the onset of the Revolutionary War. The French would call Samuel a courier du bois, a "woods runner," because of his hunting prowess and intuitive knowledge of the forest. The book reads: Samuel's knowledge grew until when he heard a twig break, he would know whether it was a deer or bear or squirrel that broke it. He could look at a track and know when the animal or man made it, and whether or not the creature was in a hurry and if so, why, and how fast it was going and what, if anything, was chasing it and how close the pursuer might be. And the more he was of the woods, of the wild, of the green, the less he was of the people...his skills and his woods knowledge set him apart, made him different.

It's this difference that might just save the lives of his parents, who were savagely attacked and captured by British soldiers (aided by the Iroquois), while Samuel was out hunting bear. Samuel must travel deep into enemy territory, tracking his parent's attackers, relying on his wits and knowledge of the forest to protect him. Along the way, Samuel witnesses the insanity, horror, and brutality of war.

Paulsen has said Woods Runner is not an attempt to write the history of the War for Independence, but instead, to "clarify some aspects of that conflict that have often been brushed over," such as the "real and horrible truths." Paulsen says in the Epilogue, "...the simple fact is that all combat is outrageous--thousands and thousands of young soldiers die horrible painful deaths lying in their own filth, alone and far from home, weak and hallucinating, forgotten and lost." But Paulsen says it is also "astonishing" to consider the "young men and boys [who] stood to as they did, in the face of withering odds, and actually won and created a new country with their blood."

Interspersed with the narrative are historical segments that provide some context and "reality" to Samuel's story.

Read more about Paulsen and Woods Runner here: http://bookpage.com/books.php?id=10012790

The Cardturner, by Louis Sachar

Ok, enough about guns and war (although card-playing can get pretty brutal). Sachar's latest is about bridge! As in cards, as in tricks and trumps! This is Sachar at his best, weaving together a smart, sophisticated, multi-layered story about bridge, of all things, and so much more.

Alton's girlfriend has dumped him for his best friend, his father's just been laid off, and now his mom has indentured him to be the cardturner for his rich, blind Uncle Lester, who just so happens to be a genius bridge-player. Part tribute to (and how-to) for the game of bridge, part coming-of-age story, and part philosophical take on things perceived and things real, this book hits home the importance of learning to turn over your own cards.

Read a well-written, witty review here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/24/cardturner-louis-sachar-review

and then read the book! And play some cards!