Review: Boy by Roald Dahl

Summary (from Goodreads):

Twenty-five years ago in “Boy,” the world’s favorite storyteller recollected scenes from his youth–some funny, some frightening, all true. “More About Boy” is the expanded story of Roald Dahl’s childhood, with his original text augmented by never-before-seen material from behind the scenes, and some of the secrets that were left out. Dahl’s adventures and misadventures during his school years are crowded with people as strange and wonderful as any character he created and are as exciting and full of the unexpected as his celebrated fiction. This special keepsake hardcover edition is filled with personal memorabilia such as family photos, letters, report cards, plus dozens of illustrations by Quentin Blake, as well as a quiz to test the knowledge of Dahl aficionados of all shapes and sizes.

Review:

Every now and then I experience the absolute need to read a Roald Dahl novel. Don’t ask me where this need comes from, but when it does, I pick up either a much-loved, much read novel of his or one that I had not read before (which tend to be his autobiographical work).

This particular novel, Boy, was suggested to me by a colleague who had used it with her grade seven students and she could not contain herself when she told me how much the students had loved it. So, to make a long story short, I read the novel.

And loved it! The novel focuses on Dahl’s education and his experiences at the different British boarding schools (his father insisted that his children receive a “British” education) he attended before finishing secondary school. While most of his experiences (friends, photography, writing) appeared to have been positive, he seemed to have had a terrible time with principals and teachers, especially when it came to discipline.

The most touching part of story was the number of letters Dahl wrote his mother every time he was away from home – from the first time he went away to school as a young boy to the times when he traveled for work, and then for war. Mrs. Dahl kept every letter the young Dahl wrote her, which I find touching and unspeakably sad.

This is a wonderful novel, and although most teachers are painted as horrors, it was nice to spend time with and get to know the boy behind the legendary author. Recommended.

Review: The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos (YA)

Summary (from Goodreads):

On an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, a young girl named Ivy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the Rumbaugh pharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives with
her mother. The discovery reveals a disturbing side to the eccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph Rumbaugh, known throughout their small western Pennsylvania town simply as the Twins. It seems that Ab and Dolph have been compelled by a powerful mutual love for their deceased mother to do something extraordinary, something that in its own twisted way bridges the gap between the living and the dead. Immediately, Ivy’s discovery provokes the revelation of a Rumbaugh family curse, a curse that, as Ivy will learn over the coming years, holds a strange power over herself and her own mother.

Review:

What an incredibly strange and disturbing book!

Jack Gantos visited my school and spoke of this book – his great-great-great (not sure how great) uncles did do something so odd that he had not heard the story of until quite suddenly Gantos’ mother let it slip one day while washing the dishes. When it came time to write a story, he took this as the starting point, and went with it. It’s the fact that this novel is based on reality that makes it disturbing.

So, this is the story of Ivy who lives with her mother at the Kelly Hotel, spends her afternoons with her ‘odd’ uncles at their pharmacy, and does the normal things the average girl does – dressing up, shopping, playing with dolls – until she discovers a secret about her family, her heritage, a family curse that gives her both comfort and unease.

Without giving too much away, I have to say that this was one of the most bizarre and odd books I have read. The ‘curse’ that threatens Ivy and her mother, on the one hand doesn’t seem like a curse – after all, what’s wrong with loving your mother? But what is disturbing is the lengths Ivy’s uncles go in order to preserve their love for their mother – that is what is downright frightening! The characters are well-rounded, the story is paced just so that one is surprised with Ivy, and we discover all aspects of the family history as Ivy does, and the end is satisfactory, even though I was hoping it wouldn’t be the end it ended up being.

Overall, I finished the book and I am sort of glad that I read a book that took me to a place I’d never imagined and to a subject that I did not know much about. If you want to get an idea of what The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs is about, read The Landlady by Roald Dahl – the subject matter is similar, and will let you determine whether you want to go ahead and read a full length novel about it!

 

Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (YA)

Summary (from Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life – and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

Review:

This book came into my life through my friend Alicia who recommended it to me (at Un-lic-ed ).

This is a wonderful story of a young girl dealing with the sudden death of her older sister, at the same time dealing with her new relationship with her sister’s boyfriend, and also finding her way in an incredible love story of her own that rival Heathcliff and Catherine’s.

Nelson’s writing is clear wringing out the humor and the heartbreak, but also streaming with hope and love and joy and vastness. This is an incredible story! I cried and laughed, and wept with the Walkers and have come out at the end with tears, but knowing that everything will be okay … because the sky is everywhere.

Review: Prince Ombra by Roderick Macleash

Summary (from Goodreads):

The World has found its new hero.

The problem? Bentley Ellicott is only a kid.

Bentley has secret powers. And he’s going to need them. Bentley is a hero – the thousand and first to be exact – in a long line of heroes that has stretched all the way back to antiquity. Heroes like Arthur and Hercules.

And now: Bentley.

That’s because there is an evil in the world that never dies. Its name is Prince Ombra. When Prince Ombra arises a hero is called upon to battle him. One day when Bentley is grown he will be that hero.

What Bentley doesn’t know is that his “one day” is today.

Review:

This is a beautifully written story, with richly developed characters, a plot that is engaging and difficult to let go, and a heart-warming, bitter-sweet relationship between Bentley and Slally, and also with the pure evil, Prince Ombra.

I cannot do justice in explaining the beauty and wonder that is held between the covers of this book, so you will have to read it and see for yourself.

I have been changed, and will remember the thousand and first time Prince Ombra battled the borrowed heart in the warrior of heaven.

I don’t say this often, but I will this time … READ THIS BOOK!