Bad things keep happening to fourth-grader Benny and his family. His best friend moved away, and he hasn’t been able to find a new one. His dad’s still recovering from a brain injury (was it Benny’s fault?) His mom tells him to focus on being kind to others, and with a new kindness program at school, Benny’s trying his best, but no one seems to notice. As things get worse, Benny worries his family will never be able to recover, and nothing will be the same again.
Benny is quite possibly the most lovable boy in literature. He strives to be a good brother both to his oldest brother Martin, who has a girlfriend for the first time. He takes care of his brother George, who has autism. He even struggles through an unrewarding friendship with a pushy boy in his class. Inspired by the story of the Indian in the Cupboard, Benny creates his own movie using Lego minifigures to tell the story of heroes who wake to find themselves trapped in the life of toys. As Benny’s heroes learn to face the challenges fate brings them, so he also finds the courage to brave life’s scary unknowns, including the terrifying experience of a parent who may never be the same.
Benny’s mom is incredible. In the midst of overwhelming circumstances, she teaches Benny to pursue kindness, but she remains real and frank herself about her own worries. In one scene in which Benny’s dad’s condition is still pretty dire, she confesses, “You don’t think you could ever, in a million years, handle it, and then it happens and you do. You just go one day at a time, and suddenly you realize, here I am. I’m handling it.” It’s moments like these that make the simple truths in this story so powerful and moving. This is a wonderful story about very simple things: love, community, and kindness.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Benny’s class studies the Zen short stories. He mentions one story and relates its lesson to what’s happening facing trials in his own life.
Violent Content Benny flies over the handlebars of his bike and crash lands on the track. When his dad tries to help him up, they bonk heads. Later, his dad collapses with a brain injury. Benny blames himself.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The pool of potential brides for Prince Maxon has been narrowed from its initial thirty-five to the final six. America Singer, one of the remaining six is under more pressure than ever to choose the man she will spend her life with: the kind-hearted future ruler, Prince Maxon or her first love, the charming castle guard Aspen.
As America vies for more time and desperately scrambles to sort her feelings for the two boys, the country faces a graver threat. Rebels continue to attack the castle, bringing death and destruction to any who oppose them. A chance encounter with rebels leaves America wondering whether they are all really evil and whether the caste system is really fair. If she were to choose Maxon, she might have an opportunity to make a real difference in her homeland, but to do so means she’d have to give up Aspen forever.
I’m not much for reality TV shows like The Bachelor, but something about this story definitely makes me want to find out whom Maxon and America choose. Because while Maxon is definitely running The Selection and narrowing down his options for a potential bride, America is definitely running her own smaller version of the game as she tries to choose between Maxon and Aspen.
Sometimes America drove me nuts. She’d fall into Aspen’s arms and realize she loves him and could never give him up, etc, smooch, smooch, and then launch into fits of jealousy at Maxon for taking the other Selection girls on dates.
While America does have a couple of lucid moments where she recognizes she isn’t being fair, she continually holds Maxon to a very different standard than the one to which she holds herself. She expects total honesty from him, but never considers telling him about her relationship with Aspen. She even allows Aspen to risk everything by continuing to see her in secret. It was hard for me to get over the deep selfishness motivating some of her choices. I’m hoping that there’s a huge reckoning coming for her in the next book where she has to own up for her behavior. Which might sound silly – I’m already planning to read the next book, but I had some real issues with this one. I can’t help it. I guess really I’m rooting for Maxon and hoping that he gets to give America a pretty sizable set-down. He’s good for it.
Beyond that, a lot of the story is written in passive voice. “I was walking down the hall,” rather than “I walked down the hall,” etc. It really keeps the reader at a distance, almost like we’re watching the story unfold through a field of mist or listening to America describe a fading dream she once had. I wanted to be right there, in the middle of the action. Not sitting back reading about it.
What I liked about the series is that it maintains a high level of romantic tension without really bringing it down into a lot of lusty sexual tension. There is some kissing, but I’d call the series pretty clean, and there aren’t a lot of teen romance novels that can make such a claim. So from that standpoint, it’s a great one to read and recommend.
I also liked that Cass brought in a little bit about the political situation in the kingdom. There’s a bit more about the whole rebel situation, definitely enough to keep us guessing and kind of raising the bar for the future queen – she’s going to walk into a big scary situation. I feel like America has the chops to face whatever the kingdom throws at her, so I’m anxious to see if she decides to agree.
Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.
Sexual Content America and Aspen cultivate a secret romance, exchanging kisses and promises. No clothes are removed during these interludes, but the scenes are steamy nonetheless. America and Maxon share kisses and one another’s arms as well. At one point America leads Maxon to her bed, thinking that’s what he wishes. It’s unclear whether she means as a place to sit or that she’s offering to have sex with him. They do not have sex. America catches Maxon kissing and making out with the other girls. Since she’s made no promise to be his bride, he is keeping his options open.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence Rebels infiltrate the castle, some killing or wounding guards and destroying property.
Drug Content
America is offered wine at a state event. She drinks and worries about how it affects her ability to make decisions after that.
Some Notes on What Happens in Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Jean Louise returns to her home in a small southern town to visit her ailing, aged father and his protege, Henry, also her beau. During her visit she discovers that the man she’s admired and trusted all her life as the most fair and just man has somehow shifted into someone with whom she deeply disagrees. Her once peaceful town has become a place where races are deeply divided, and where respect for one another has evaporated. The change throws her into despair and agony, and she fights to be understood and to understand what has happened.
So the story goes something like this: Once upon a time, Harper Lee wrote a manuscript and handed it to a publisher. The editor encouraged her to rework the manuscript. The manuscript became the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird. It started as Go Set a Watchman.
Why I Read Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
There’s been controversy over the publication of the book since it was announced. I’m not going to get into that here, but this guy makes some great points. Whether or not I chose to read Go Set a Watchman, it was going to be published and going to be on the bestseller lists. I mean, it’s HARPER LEE. It’s more of her story world. How can we resist this?
I had to read it. Partly out of curiosity. Partly because I wanted more Maycomb and Atticus and all that. Partly because I wanted to see where the story began. I wanted to know if I agreed with the editor – that the real story, the story that deserved to be told – was the one that ultimately became To Kill a Mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books. I knew looking at the history of this manuscript that it was not going to compare to the book that was ultimately published. These aren’t two separate stories. These are two versions of one story idea. Granted, each version plays out the story in very different ways, but to compare them in any other way than first draft to final draft really isn’t fair, and it really ignores the role that a good editor plays in the writing process.
Go Set a Watchman might, at first glance, seem like a sequel. It’s marketed as a separate story, a tale about Scout as an adult. Don’t buy that. I mean, yes, you get to see her a bit as a grown-up, but the heart and soul of the story are in Jean Louise’s childhood flashbacks. These are framed by her adult present life, but those scenes have so much less value without the past hinging them together and making us care.
Spoilers and Agonies
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is the hero. He’s admirable and good. In Go Set a Watchman, Lee explores a coming-of-age moment in which Jean Louise realizes her father is flawed, in which she profoundly disagrees with him. In which he has embraced the company of some very racist men. It feels like the polar opposite of the character we see in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Side note: Yes, those two versions of Atticus don’t make sense, but it doesn’t have to make sense. There isn’t supposed to be continuity because these aren’t two separate stories. They are a first draft and a final draft.
I pretty much want to reject that idea of Atticus. I want to hug the editor who said, nope, let’s talk about when this guy saved the day! Thank you. Oh, thank you, thank you!
Again, I think it’s important to think of these stories as one-or-the-other. We were never intended to have both.
Imagine the story world where Atticus and Scout and Jem live without To Kill a Mockingbird. Imagine that the flawed, sad, old Atticus is the only one we get.
Okay, stop before that gets too depressing. Because it would be totally depressing!
Side note: Can I just say that I totally flipped out when I read the passage where she’s talking about how Henry came to be kind of a second son to Atticus, and there’s like one line, squeezed into the middle of a sentence where it says, “…Jean Louise’s brother dropped dead in his tracks one day…” and I was like wait, WHAT?!
I had to put the book down. I had to force myself to remember that when this was written, there was no Jem from To Kill a Mockingbird, that all those moments that I treasured and loved (after reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time, I took to referring to my brother Jeremy as Jem) didn’t exist when Harper Lee wrote this line.
It was the only way I could forgive her. (I realize that sounds ridiculous. Forgive her as a writer, not as a person.) And remember that ultimately, she could have rejected her editor’s comments and taken her manuscript elsewhere. Fortunately, she took on rewriting her manuscript and creating the beloved story we know her for today.
Why I Won’t Review Go Set a Watchman
The feedback from her editor, the decision to rewrite, those have all risen in value to me now. I think those were the right choices. Those gave us the right story. I think it’s okay to read Go Set a Watchman (or not, if you don’t want to) as long as you read it for what it is: a glimpse into the early part of a complex creative process. It’s not a finished work and it isn’t meant to be taken as such.
I mean, the manuscript has a beginning, middle and ending. It doesn’t leave off mid-scene or anything. But I can’t ignore the fact that only one part of the process had been complete: Lee had written a manuscript. To leave out the role the editor played in the shaping of her story, to act like that doesn’t matter and that the manuscript should be judged as is the same way an edited, published novel is seems like a grossly ignorant choice to me.
Your thoughts are most welcome.
Did you read To Kill a Mockingbird? Are you planning to or have you read Go Set a Watchman? Share your thoughts on why or why not. I’m really curious to know what you think.
Caitlyn and Cassie may look exactly the same, but inside they’re as different as two people can be. On this they agree: the tiny town of Aura, Texas is the last place they want to live. Caitlyn, ever the optimist, tries to make the best of the move. Cassie hatches plot after plot to convince Mom to return to San Antonio. Strange visions begin clouding the twins’ sight. To Cassie, this could turn into an opportunity to get in with the cool kids. Caitlyn, however, is convinced they should use their gift to help others. The last person they expected turns out to need their help most of all.
Twins themselves, the authors know a lot about issues faced by identical siblings. Cassie and Caitlyn have two distinct personalities and two very different ideas on how to solve problems. Both struggle to craft unique identities to avoid being mistaken for one another in a way that any reader with siblings can easily understand. Told with a mixture of sass and poise, this story touches on the difficulties of finding new friends in a small town. It reminds readers that ultimately, power should be used for the good of others, and that even moms need a little help sometimes.
Language Content
No profanity.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Cassie and Caitlyn begin having visions foretelling future events. They research ESP for more information, but uncover little that is helpful, other than a reference to another case similar to theirs.
Cantor and Bixby have spent the last few years serving as Realm Walkers. They cross through portals to other worlds to keep peace and protect anyone in need. Now they join forces again to stop two realms on a collision course with their homeland. The Realm Walkers Guild stands mired in corruption, so Cantor and Bixby will find no allies or aid there. Instead they set out to locate Chomountain, a man supernaturally gifted by Primen. They will have to find and free Cho before their homes are destroyed.
While the first book in the Realm Walkers series had a middle grade feel, Two Renegade Realms begins later, with Cantor older, wiser and much taller. The story takes on more of a young adult tone though its content remains safe enough for younger eyes and ears. The characters and their quirks make for a warm cast.
Between the action sequences, characters shuffle through and rearrange hampers, which always seem to contain fresh, wonderful foods and useful items. They enjoy many picnics and meals together. While those scenes are cute, some of them feel like filler – not much is happening. Some of the conflicts resolve easily – once so easily that even the characters comment on how simple the solution was. Instead of the action and suspense building to a mountain peak as the story unfolds toward its climax, it has more of a slalom feel with conflict and resolution repeating through the course of the tale.
Fans of Cantor, Bixby and Bridger will enjoy following more of their story and seeing how their relationships with one another have changed since the earlier novel.
Language Content
None.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Cantor and his friends are devoted followers of Primen in a monotheistic religion similar to Christianity
Violence Brief battle sequences and some instances of peril. No gory details.
Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior lives in a world in which faction comes before family. Upon turning sixteen, each society member must choose to commit life to one of five factions. No turning back. Though Beatrice loves her family, she can’t imagine living out the rest of her life wholly committed to serving others selflessly as the Abegnation faction members do. But if she chooses to leave her faction, she will lose her family for good.
Beatrice discovers making her choice puts more at risk than her connection to family. Her mind carries within it a deadly secret, one she must keep at all costs. As she prepares to join the faction of her choice, she renames herself Tris and braces herself for the battle of her life.
Roth’s debut novel packs quite a punch, drawing readers into a world in which survival depends on securing one’s place within a group and virtue is everything. But while the virtues chosen by each faction may have started in purity, time has warped some so that instead of coming together to form a society that is a balanced whole, some factions have become twisted and parasitic.
Though the early chapters spend a lot of time setting up the story, the pace picks up quite a bit once Beatrice/Tris chooses her faction and the initiation rites begin. From that point on, the reader scarcely has a chance to pause for breath, and may need intervention from friends and family in order to put the book down for things like dinner and sleep.
Series fans are already eagerly anticipating the March 2014 release of the movie starring Shailene Woodley based on this first book in the Divergent Series. The series will conclude with the release of Allegiant on October 22, 2013.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content While romantic tensions run high between Tris and her boy, both seem committed to taking the relationship slowly. Lots of kissing scenes and one pretty intense make-out scene in a train, but nothing goes beyond that.
Spiritual Content The Abegnation faction believe in God and serving others. Though she has always struggled to live up to the pure virtues of her faction, Tris returns to those beliefs in a moment when things go horribly wrong.
Violence Some initiation rituals are a bit violent. Other initiates, motivated by jealousy, attack their rivals and even attempt to kill them. Divergent climaxes with an intense sequence of battles, but graphic details are limited.
Drug Content
To celebrate or mourn, Tris’s new faction members drink alcohol. Tris herself doesn’t participate. Faction leaders use a serum to create simulations in the minds of the initiates as part of the process of admittance into the faction.
