KidsBBookin: Eli's 1st Winter Carnival

Eli's 1st Winter Carnival
by Lisa Bowen
Illustrated by Nina Vanessa Pontillas
34 pp. Real Life Learning
(Picture Book; ages 3-6)
http://www.reallifelearning.ca/childrens-books.html
http://lisabowen.weebly.com/


It's getting to be that time of year. Well...that depends on if you're in Vermont or in Florida! Either way, snow will be here before you know it, and it'll be a great time to curl up with the family for a short and sweet tale of a little boy's first time at his town's winter carnival.

Eli (short for Elijah) is a little boy who's ready to conquer his first winter carnival. Plus, it gives him the chance to be just like his big brother Elijah who has gone before. Eli, Isaiah, Mom, and Dad suit up to take on feet of snow, the ski slopes, a bit of ice hockey, and the tremendous task of building the best and quirkiest snow man. Through it all, Eli joins friends in celebrating the power of community and the comfort in being surrounded by loved ones.

Author Lisa Bowen artfully captures the brightness, beauty, and boldness of experiencing anything for the first. Nina Vanessa Pontillas's illustrations are sleek, fluid, and bursting with character. You don't want to miss this delightful read.

Oh...and don't forget to bundle up!

Review: In the Thick of It

If There Be Thorns
Virginia Andrews
HarperCollins
2012 Edition
ISBN 9780-0792786-9

Two brothers. Two voices. Two lives converging.

Okay, so that was melodramatic, but in light of this series, I think it’s probably fitting. The Dollanganger family continues in their trademark dysfunction as the story shifts to the perspective of the two offspring bred from Cathy’s ill-fated relationships.

Cathy and Christopher and their two sons are leaving the past behind. (Or so they think). Jory, fourteen years old and following in his mother’s dancer footsteps, is an idealist who would never think the worst of his parents. Bart is an odd child tripping over his own feet, trying to figure out his place in his family, and loathing his adopted baby sister named Cindy for tipping the scales of affection and attention. All this is exasperated as a mysterious woman in black moves in next door and both boys’ interactions with her unlock long buried secrets. Foxworth family secrets. Each boy goes on his own journey to discovering what his family really is. Jory witnesses a few interesting interactions between his parents Cathy and Chris, leaving him uncomfortable with their relationship. Bart develops a deep bond with the woman next door and her butler and takes on the personality  of a long-dead relative with some serious psychosexual issues. And as you can guess, their parents’ past comes to haunt these young boys. From a few dead pets to whispered conversations to an old journal and secrets reveal, the Dollangangers are caught in the thicket of past decisions, leaving the next generation to hack their to the truth.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like this installment. The crafting and structure of this novel was smooth and well-thought out. The voices of both Jory and Bart are so specific and clear that my fears of an indistinguishable voice were eased. Of course the over-drawn dialogue and some character interactions were unnecessary; however, the narrative ebbed and arched with such ease to make this an enjoyable read.

Come back on September 8 for my ruminations on the fourth installment in this twisted series!

Review: Petals Falling on Complicated Ground

Petals in the Wind

Virginia Andrews

HarperCollins

2012 Edition

978-000-792785-2

The memory of it would not allow them to lead ordinary lives.

These words blaze on the back of my copy of Petals on the Wind. Okay, well, maybe they don’t actually blaze (the lettering is in stark white), but the theme of how memory scars us is poignant in this sequel to Flowers in the Attic. The three remaining Dollanganger children remain and grow into adulthood, but how will they survive it?

Cathy Dollanganger continues to narrate the saga of family secrets and the power of memory. She, Christopher, and Carrie have escaped Foxworth Hall and have found solace with Paul Sheffield, a lonely doctor, and his African American maid Henny. Christopher is determined to become a doctor, Carrie is still physically stunted from malnutrition, and Cathy studies to become a ballerina while remaining hellbent on destroying their mother Corrine. But between juggling her lingering feelings for her brother, continuing to mother Carrie, developing her sexuality with Paul and her dance partner Julian, Cathy is still haunted by memories of the attic and all that was lost, including her younger brother Cory. Carrying around the weight of the past takes a toll on Cathy is she becomes the proverbial villain in her own story, seducing her mother’s husband in order to destroy her.

While this narrative whimsically swirled and definitely offered this saga’s trademark drama, the writing was oftentimes redundant and a bit inaccessible. The melodrama was overblown and sometimes hindered the quieter moments within the story, like when Cathy decides to harness the power of her sexuality based on her mother’s past behavior. It was a quite intimate moment, one line really, that spoke volumes about Cathy’s evolving personal and sexual identity. (Please see the previous rumination!) Also, the “love square” between Cathy, Christopher, Paul, and Julian was overdraw and tiresome, leaving me to wonder if having a relationship with Cathy is worth really worth the pursuit. Then then there’s the casting of the lone African American character in a stereotypical role. By today’s polarization of racial politics, this doesn’t help the narrative either. Henrietta “Henny” Beech literally has no voice (she is mute) and is the traditional mammy figure, a character who was lovingly flat with no dimension. Given the book was originally published in the 1980s and set in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, this characterization is not surprising, but it’s still no less annoying (especially as her space in the book was so minor I wasn’t even sure I could mention her in the review!)

Petals on the Wind continues with the over-the-top family drama. It is the trainwreck you can’t stop watching. Traditional lore is that this series is based on true events. True or not, the writing is simultaneously overshot and stunted, not really evolving from the first book. If you to wash in the over bloated shock of reality TV emotional hijinx, keep reading. If you’re looking to be inspired by the Aristotelian unities of drama, mmm...maybe you can miss this one.

Join me August 4th for my ruminations on the next book in the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns.  We’ll see what this third installment will offer. MWAHHH! (God, that sounds ominous...)