Recent Read: The Brides of Rollrock Island

this is definitely the best cover

On Rollrock Island, wives were once conjured from the sea. But those days have past, or so they thought until young Misskaella Prout, a girl whose appearance "harks back," seems to have a connection to the seals of the island. She's ostracized, mocked, and rejected by the villagers and even members of her own family. When she begins to see the makings of humanity in the seals and learns to harness the magic that inhabits her, how will she use it?

Where to begin?

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan was stunning. I fear that any effort I make to champion the virtues of this book will be inadequate. It's so unlike anything I've read. It's eerie, unsettling, atmospheric, stark, rustic, haunting, stormy, fascinating, tragic, with moments of beauty. The language is gorgeous--literary, but she evokes such beautiful, clear images and emotions with rich, unexpected diction. I knew these people and I could smell the sea. I loved the mythology that felt like folklore--or rather felt like what really happened that then developed into folklore. There were many details Lanagan added that created a world that was both realistic and vivid.

Then there's the story itself. We witness the spellbinding (pun intended) development of Misskaella from misfit girl into witch, seeing who she really is, where she comes from, and how she becomes who she becomes. We then watch as the consequences of her decisions unfold in fascinating and often sorrowful ways. The story is told from six perspectives, each giving the reader a different view of life on the island, a different view of development of the story. Frankly, I would have been happy to read a novel about each of those characters. (I was especially sad to see Misskaella's section come to a close.) Lanagan often tells her story by implication, making it even more eerie, and more intense as the reader puts together the pieces and experiences the (often heart-breaking) realization of what happened. There is so much meat in this story. I would love to read this with friends and discuss it. I was especially struck by the depiction of the women.

I will say that this is a book that takes some effort to get into. The first chapter I found a bit confusing (and I'm not entirely sure why it was there), but once I got into Misskaella's narrative, that was it.  Not a book for everyone, I'd say, but oh, it was masterful.

Picture This: The Hueys in the New Sweater

The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers

"In this introductory tale of the Hueys, they explore subversion through knitwear."

"The thing about the Hueys," Jeffers begins, "...was that they were all the same." Or at least, they were the same until Rupert got the bright idea to knit a colorful sweater. What will happen when he upsets with the status quo?

click to enlarge

Loved this quirky little book. The shapeless, footless blobs that are the Hueys (with their pencil crawled shadows) tickled my funny bone with their very existence. A story of nonconformity (that brought hipsters to mind). It's sparse and simple, yet clever and funny. With two dots and a few lines (and the occasional monosyllabic comment), Jeffers communicates nuanced emotion. I very much look forward to future Huey books.

Picture This: Island: A Story of the Galapagos

Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

In this nonfiction picture book, Jason Chin writes and illustrates a biography of the Galapagos Islands, starting with birth and finishing with old age (and an epilogue). He tells the story of how  volcanoes formed the islands, how plant and animal life came to the islands and then how those evolved into endemic species. In the epilogue is Darwin's visit to the islands. And Chin includes more detailed information about Darwin and the science of the islands at the end.

Chin explains geological and evolutionary basics clearly and simply, with beautiful illustrations to accompany the story. In small panels, Chin shows evolution as it happens (like the different stages of a tortoise shell as it evolves), as well as animal behavior and the evolution of the island itself (for example, as it grows with each volcanic eruption). In nice full page spreads, Chin shows the majesty and beauty of the islands. See a sampling of the book and its illustrations here or preview the book on Amazon.

Recent Read: Never Fall Down

In Battamburg, Cambodia, 11-year-old Arn lives a happy life, listening to music, sneaking into movies, and playing games, when soldiers order everyone to vacate the city. He's marched into the countryside, separated form his family, and stripped of all his belongings. He soon learns that the soldiers are the Khmer Rouge, implementing a radical Communist agenda. Arn is given a pair of black pajamas and put to work for long hours with other boys his age. His life becomes focused on survival--how to avoid starving to death, working to death, or being tortured and killed like so many around. him. An opportunity to play music for the Khmer Rouge is his salvation.

Two words come to mind after finishing this book: important and horrifying. This book blew my mind. I knew next to nothing about the Khmer Rouge. McCormick shares a fictionalized version of Arn Chorn-Pond's real experiences living in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took over. The horrors of Arn's life are shared through his young, innocent narration. This innocence and simple, straightforward delivery make what he sees a little more bearable, while still laying everything bare for the reader to see. It's not an easy read. I found myself taking breaks because the tragedy, suffering, and violence were too much. But the ending is hopeful. When I read stories like this I am amazed at the resilience of humanity--both that humans can survive physically and that they go on to have joy and hope in their lives despite the unspeakable things they've lived through. Even though this is a book written for and marketed to teens, it has great appeal for adults, too. This is an event I think most people know too little about, and Never Fall Down is a great starting point. (And if you do read it, I would recommend looking up Arn Chorn-Pond or maybe watching this documentary about his efforts to preserve traditional Cambodian music.)

Awake My Soul

Went to see Mumford and Sons at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Fantastic. Can we do that again tomorrow?

A few highlights:

The Hollywood Bowl. It was such a great setting for Mumford & Sons. They had these lights that gave it an outdoor, backyard kind of performance. And on quieter songs, that were mostly just acoustic with harmony, you could sit down, and look at the stars (which, incidentally were brighter/easier to see there than in the city). It would have been a great concert to be at w/a bf.

The harmonies. Live, I could hear (and see) the harmonies much more clearly.Many songs have 4 part harmonies.

The instruments. I loved seeing a banjo player, and a bass player rocking out with three horn players. They also have a great fiddle player on tour with them. I enjoyed seeing what instruments were brought out for each song.

The guy who said to me, "I think it's cool as f*** that you came by yourself."

That they closed with a cover of With a Little Help from My Friends.

All the dancing, fun, silliness that went on when they played "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Awake My Soul" with the Angeleno band, Dawes.

After the concert, "Come Together" played in the background, and many audience members sang along as they made their way to the exits.






If you're a Mumford & Sons fan, don't miss this.

Picture This: Chopsticks

Chopsticks by Amy Krause Rosenthal, illustrated by Scott Magoon

Chopsticks are best friends. They're never apart, until one fateful day, while learning new acrobatic moves, one chopstick is injured! Uninjured Chopstick stays by injured Chopsticks side while his fracture heals, until injured Chopstick insists that uninjured Chopstick go out on his own instead of doing nothing. Will Chopstick figure out how to be without the partner he's never been separated from?

This is great fun. The puns alone are a good reason to pick this one up (see photo below). Together, the two chopsticks pick up rice and noodles and sushi. On his own, Chopstick learns to be part of a game of pick up sticks, pole vault, and test cupcakes like a toothpick. The endearing illustrations of anthropomorphized utensils, and medicine cabinet (the utensil hospital) items contain many funny details for children to find (hide and seek with broccoli, a spoon playing drums with two measuring cups).

"Chopstick was quickly whisked away."

(click to expand)

"There are times now when I feel like I'm struggling upstream myself. Just before we set out on this adventure, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. My immune system has gone haywire and is attacking my joints. It's been moving around from shoulder to hip to knees to feet, raising hell on some days. It's not something I like to talk about, even with Isaac. When it really flares up I have to stop, and I know my pain is just as hard on him. But I was not gonna miss this journey. You make your choices and take your chances. Life comes with no guarantees. I choose an adventure with hardship over no adventure at all every time."

-Bjornen Babcock, River of No Return (a PBS Nature documentary of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area in Idaho)

Croissant Taste Test: The Best Croissants in LA

It'a not an easy thing to find a croissant that is truly like the ones from France. There are four bakeries in LA at the moment who make top notch, French croissants. My family wanted to determine which was actually the best. So we drove all over the place one morning, retrieving croissants and pain au chocolats from those four bakeries. It was so interesting tasting them all at once. There were very distinct differences that I don't know that I would have ever noticed had I not been comparing them side by side.

1. Proof Bakery 3156 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles (Atwater Village)

This croissant wins the prize for flakiest and crispiest. But it was not as flavorful as the others. $2.75

2. Bouchon Bakery 235 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills

This was the most flavorful croissant. It was also the least flaky, but the flavor makes up for it. $3.25

3. Huckleberry Cafe 1014 Wilshire Blvd

This croissant was more bready. I liked it, but I think in the realm of French croissants, this was the worst of the four. Still, sometimes you're in the mood for bready. $2.00

4. Short Cake 6333 3rd St, Stall 316 (in the Farmers market), Los Angeles

Overall, I'd say this was the best croissant. It was crispy, had nice flavor, and was a good size. As you might be able to tell above, that day it was a little burnt, so I returned later that week and can confirm that indeed, it is the best overall. $2.50

OVERALL WINNER: Short Cake

The Short Cake croissant was excellent on every level, even though it may not have reached the same amount of crispiness or flavor as others. (But they do need to stop burning them.) Each croissant has its strength, so it just depends on what you like, or what you're in the mood for (sometimes a bready croissant sounds like just what I want).

The pains au chocolat/chocolate croissants are much like the plain croissants. Huckleberry's ($3.50) is bready and is filled with lots of chocolate chips instead of traditional bars. Bouchon's ($3.50) again has that flavorful, but less flaky quality, and Proof's ($3.50) is flaky, crispy and good. Short Cake does not make a pain au chocolat. Instead they have a bear claw, which I find far inferior and barely comparable. Of the pains au chocolat, I'd say Proof is my favorite. (Because chocolate is such a strong flavor, the differences in the flavor of the croissants doesn't matter quite as much to me. Rather, I go for textural superiority.)

Proof, Bouchon, Huckleberry

Recent Read: Seraphina

Peace in the Kingdom of Goredd rests on an uneasy treaty between humans and dragons signed 40 years ago. The hyper-rational dragons, who work better with numbers than other beings, often assume human form, living among the citizens of Goredd as teachers, ambassadors, and scholars. As the anniversary of the treaty draws near, the prince is found killed in a typically draconian fashion, and the already existing tensions escalate. Seraphina Dombegh, music teacher in the royal court, finds herself caught between the two sides. At risk of exposing her own perilous secret, Seraphina becomes drawn into the political intrigue and treachery that threatens to destroy the peace that so many have worked so hard to establish.

Hmm, that summary seems inadequate. But I try to keep my summaries sound-bite short so I can pitch them to patrons in a matter of minutes. I was thoroughly impressed with Rachel Hartman's debut novel, Seraphina. From the beginning I could tell that Hartman was not only a skilled writer, but one who had thoroughly prepared and developed her story and mythology. In this intricately plotted story, Hartman weaves together mystery, political intrigue, complicated emotions and relationships, with a sophisticated mythology to form the first volume of a promising new high fantasy series for young adults. With dragons that take human form and think in an entirely foreign way, this is not your typical dragon book. Mature and intelligent like her companions, 16-year-old Seraphina is a thoughtful, likable narrator. It's one of those books that takes a little longer to get into (that and the length may serve as a barrier to some), but the reward for the expository development and detail pays off as readers come to better understand a multifaceted world and fully developed characters. I highly recommend this one. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Watch the trailer:

Picture This: This is Not My Hat

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
A little fish admits that the little hat he's wearing is not his; it's stolen. But he's sure that the big fish it belongs to won't miss it. It was too big for him anyway. And he won't know where the little fish is going. So he'll be fine. He's sure. ...

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book since I saw the ARC in June at ALA. Another brilliant release from Jon Klassen. It's a tale distinct from yet similar to the equally genius I Want My Hat Back. Just look at these few pages:

Hilarious! And it's all communicated through subtle changes in the eyes.

Here's the trailer: