The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Originally published : 1998 (Polygon)
Length: 256 pages
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Rating: 4/5 (419 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 14,927 ratings, 3.67 average rating

I'll admit up front that my memory of this book is a bit of a blur because I read it during the 24-hour Readathon. I was excessively tired from the get-go that day, but I know that I LOVED this book. I have had it on my shelf for several years now and just ignored it. Little did I know I was missing out.
Precious Romatswe--an intelligent, intuitive and determined woman, decides to open her own detective agency in her beloved country, Botswana. Things start out a bit slow for the agency, but eventually she receives some cases where she proves her ability to unravel a few mysteries. As she goes about cleverly solving cases, we learn about her life that has not always been easy, and the values she embraces.
What made this book move beyond good to great for me was how inspirational of a character Precious is. She is independent and determined, and even though she experiences things that could jade her a bit, she maintains a love for life and people and it infuses her with energy and purpose. I also loved the descriptions of the land. I have always been in love with Africa (from afar unfortunately), and enjoyed this brief (and somewhat hazy)visit.

No notes for this one, which I regret because it is part of a series.

Prude-ometer (subjective content assessment): A brief date rape scene. I don't remember if there was bad language or not.

A Wizard of Earthsea

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Originally published : 1968
Length: 205 pages
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Amazon Rating: 4/5 (410 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 5,728 ratings, 4.00 average rating

I have wanted to read this book for a long time, it being heralded as a must-read classic of fantasy. I had super high expectations, and while I wasn't disappointed, it wasn't at all the experience I was expecting.
It's a simple story powerfully told. When Ged is a young boy, he discovers he has magical powers. He eventually attends a school for wizards, where his pride leads him to attempting a spell that will bring the dead back to life. The spell doesn't work right, and brings into the world a shadow that aims to hunt Ged down and overpower him. Ged's remorse is intense, and the remainder of the story tells of his effort to flee from the shadow, until he comes to realize that he must hunt the shadow to conquer it.
I didn't find this to be a page-turner, like I expected, but each page was worth reading, if that makes any sense. The storytelling was great--I could really feel Ged's regret and pain when he realizes the mistakes he has made, I could picture the landscape of the islands he travels to. The themes were satisfying. It reminded me a bit of The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad--the idea that you have to acknowledge your dark side in order to conquer it.
My only dissatisfaction comes from wishing that it was either a more compact short story, or a longer more, detailed novel. It seemed like it was in a no-man's land in between the two. Maybe the rest of the series will give me what I felt was missing. I definitely want to read more of Le Guin. Any recommendations on what to try next?

A Single Shard

Author: Linda Sue Park

Originally published : 2001 (Clarion Books)
Length: 152 pages
Awards: Newbery Medal 2002, ALA Best Book for Young Adults 2002
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (145 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 1,885 ratings, 3.99 average rating

12-year-old Tree Ear, an orphan who lives under a bridge with the crippled Crane-man, enjoys watching the master potter of his Korean village when he's not scavenging for food to eat. When he breaks one of the potter's creations, he must work to pay off his debt. While he dreams of eventually learning to use the potter's wheel, his responsibilities increase, until he is given the honor of taking the potter's finest work to the city to present to the royal court. His journey does not always go as planned, but he is committed to fulfilling his assignment not matter what.

There's so much to love about this Newbery winner: lovable characters with great names, meaningful and humorous relationships, a picture of life and pottery in 12th-century Korea, important life lessons learned, and a compelling story. Readers of all ages can enjoy it, making it a great read-aloud selection. I laughed, I cried, and I will not soon forget Tree Ear and his adventures and perserverence.

I, Juan de Pareja

Author: Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

Originally published : 1965
Length: 192 pages
Award: Newbery Medal 1965
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 3/5
Amazon Rating: 4/5 (33 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 156 ratings, 3.76 average rating

"I, Juan de Pareja, was born into slavery early in the seventeenth century." Trevino has taken what little is known of the lives of the Spanish painter Diego Velazquez and his slave, Juan, and created an inspiring story of courage and persistence. After a childhood filled with tragedy and abuse, Juan is inherited by Velasquez, and works in his studio preparing materials. Juan soon begins to paint but does so in secret, because slaves are forbidden to learn the arts. Although he feels guilty keeping his painting from his master, he feels compelled to fulfill his need to paint. Eventually he knows he will have to confess to Valasquez, who believes in painting things as they really are--to innacurately "beautify" a painting would be wrong.
While this was an interesting and somewhat educational children's novel, I certainly didn't find it to be a page-turner. I had a hard time imagining a child finding it at all engaging, and thought it was peculiar that the main character is an adult for a very large portion of the book. There's a lot of death, which I'm sure was quite realistic for that time period, but it got to be pretty depressing. I was reading this while camping and I would gasp and say "Oh, no!" When my kids asked what was wrong, I would say, "Someone died." After a few times of this, they would say, "Someone else died, didn't they?" It does end on a positive note though, and I felt like it was a good book, just not a great one.

Little Skink's Tail by Janet Halfmann

I don't usually review picture books, but I won an autographed copy of Little Skink's Tail from Shelly of Write for a Reader this last month, and my daughters just love it! My seven-year-old has read it on her own at least 20 times now. And as a parent, I found myself enjoying the story as well. It's one that won't drive you nuts after reading it for the umpteenth time. Little Skink gets his tail swiped by an owl, and imagines what he would look like with the tails of his fellow creatures. In some instances, this is pretty humorous as well as educational.

My daughter's comments:
"I like how the skink looks--he has a blue tail and a brown body. My favorite part is the picture of him with the squirrel tail and the squirrel looking at him funny."

The book has beautiful illustrations and a couple of activity pages in the back. Highly recommended for younger readers!

Thank you Janet Halfmann and Shelly B. for the giveaway!

The Shack

Author: William P. Young

Originally published : 2007
Length: 256
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 3/5
Amazon Rating: 4/5 (3,020 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 14,847 ratings, 3.75 average rating

When I was younger, in my teens and much of my twenties, I would staunchly avoid anything that was "in." If everyone was watching it, reading it, wearing it, I was not. Sadly, this meant no Simpsons. Now that I have realized the error of my ways, it's really difficult to catch up on twenty seasons of a brilliant show. All in the name of nonconformity.
As I've gotten old(er), I still don't wear anything even remotely stylish, but I do have more of a desire to share in some of the popular shows and books that ten years ago I would have snubbed. I've actually watched a few seasons of Survivor, cheered for contestants on American Idol (but never voted), and voraciously read The DaVinci Code in less than 24 hours. At jury duty recently, a conversation about Twilight came up among a group of women, and after a couple of hours, we were practically BFF's! In a society where individuals have become increasingly isolated, I think this is pretty cool. These things have the potential to bring us together, rather than tear us apart (unless there arises an Edward/Jacob debate, of course.)
All of this rambling is just a pretext to explain my desire to read The Shack. I saw it as No. 1 on the bestseller list. It caught my eye browsing at Sam's Club. Reviews popped up on blogs. I wanted in on the action! And so did the members of my book club.
As the back cover notes, "The Shack wrestles with the timeless question: "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" Mack has experienced that pain--his young daughter is kidnapped during a camping trip, and all that is found of her is a bloody dress in an abandoned shack. How could God let this happen? Well, Mack receives a note in his mailbox inviting him to the shack to "get together" with Papa (his wife's name for God) and find out the answer to that question.
I only gave myself a day to read this, but I still found myself stopping to ponder for several minutes at a time. While I felt pretty involved in the story, I didn't necessarily agree with everything he said. One member of the book club mentioned that she thought whether a reader liked the book or not depended on whether the ideas put forth "rang true" for the individual. For a couple of people there, it did not ring true at all. I felt like certain parts were very powerful (Chapter 11-Here Come Da Judge) and others just interesting perspectives. The Godhead is presented in such an unusual way. I think those of conservative faiths may find it somewhat sacrilegious, and those without much religious faith may find it silly.
I didn't know the background of the publication of this book until I read an article on Wikipedia. Young originally wrote it as a Christmas gift for his children to share with them his beliefs, and had no intention of publishing it. This makes me appreciate the book a little more, because you don't get the idea that he's trying to push his way of thinking on anyone; he's just sharing his own treasured beliefs and obviously a lot of time spent pondering.


I usually try to keep my posts short, but this has been an incredibly long and rambling post . If you've actually read all of it, I think you deserve an award! I'm just going to post it without looking too closely at it, or else I might end up erasing it all and writing a seven-word review.

The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Originally published : 2008
Length: 320
Awards: Newbery Medal
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (194 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 6,792 ratings, 4.26 average rating

When I first heard about the premise of this book--a toddler who is orphaned after his family is murdered spends his childhood being raised in a cemetery by the dearly departed--it sounded a bit off the wall to me, and I wasn't sure if I would like it. I had read Stardust and Coraline by Gaiman, and I liked the two, but wasn't completely blown away, but impressed enough to want to read more of his works. After a long wait, I finally managed to get a copy from the library. (Oh, if only I had grabbed it before it won the Newbery!)
After being completely terrified reading the first few pages, I got carried away by this tale of Nobody Owens and the various individuals--whether alive, dead, or somewhere in between--who care for him and teach him about the realities of life and death. For me it is mostly a story about compassion, made even more powerful by the contrasting evil elements throughout. I loved the perfect balance between humor and darkness. The narrative takes some unexpected turns that I did find "off the wall," but they didn't detract from my enjoyment and satisfaction. There are a few unanswered questions in the end, but this usually doesn't bother me. I suppose I should just spit it out: I LOVED IT!
I have to confess that I was completely ignorant that Gaiman was inspired by Kipling's The Jungle Book until after reading it. I would like to read it again with that in mind. It may give me a whole new perspective. I have read that the audio, narrated by Gaiman himself, is excellent.

More reviews:
1More Chapter
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
My Two Blessings
Maw Books Blog
Bookshelves of Doom
Rob Around Books
Stainless Steel Droppings
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Bart's Bookshelf
Read_Warbler
As usual, I need more bookshelves
The Movieholic and Bibliophile's Blog
Penny's Pages
Biblio Addict

I know I have read some great reviews about The Graveyard Book other than these that I can't find right now. Please send me a link if you have a review!