Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

One of the best things about science fiction is the reader gets to enter into a alternative world created just for them.  You know you have left your current state of mind when you start adapting words or phrases into your everyday vocabulary or dreaming of a time and place you can visit only while lost in a good book.  The best stories transport you and let you forget your current reality for awhile. 

Birthmarked transported me to a place called Wharfton located outside of the walled fortress called the Enclave.  The year is around A.D. 2400 and water is scarce.  Un-lake Superior is near and dried up like the wombs of many of the infertile women within the Enclave.  On the outside of the wall, lives Gaia Stone, a sixteen year old midwife whose duty is to advance the first 3 babies of the month to be adopted by the privileged families within The Enclave. 

Gaia's life begins to unravel when her parents are arrested by the very community they serve.  Gaia learns they are sentenced to death and bravely sneaks inside the wall to try and save them.  Gaia witnesses an execution of a pregnant mother and does the only thing she can, she saves the baby.  Soon Gaia is arrested but she is not your typical girl, she has a scar on her face.  The scar at once marks Gaia as an outsider as well as a fugitive but Gaia is strong, resourceful, hopeful and a smart young woman.  What ensues is a roller coaster adventure story full of twists and turns and an amazing young heroine who stands up for her parents and what she believes in.

Birthmarked touches on economic and environmental issues as well as problems of infertility and hemophilia that result from a society that closes its doors.  The wall of the Enclave reminds me of the type of walls we self-impose on ourselves as well as the walls who purpose is to keep people in their place, like the Berlin Wall.  Birthmarked is reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.


Masister and Mabrother, you have provided a great service to The Enclave.  We are now raising the quota to five babies a month.


I wonder, is it time to rebel? 
Looking forward to the second book in the series PRIZED.

The Report. A Novel by Jessica Francis Kane

The Report.  A Novel by Jessica Francis Kane

In 1943, a horrible accident takes place in a London air-raid shelter.  No bombs fell the night of March 3, when 173 people died in a deadly crush in Bethnal Green.  The accident leaves a grieving community in the midst of wartime without any answers and lots of questions.  If there were no bombs, how did 173 people die in an air-raid shelter?

One person makes a misstep or a temporary fault in judgement on that fateful night and the ramifications cause the community to demand a investigation.  The Report is the fictional investigation into the possible details of the accident.

 Kane uses the actual report written by Laurence Dunne in 1943 and writes a novel that probes the tragedy with style and grace.  The Report is told in two interconnecting story lines, one takes place 30 years after the accident, where a film maker who was a child in the tragedy, interviews the aging Laurie Dunn.  The other is of The Report being written and interviews with survivors being conducted so Dunn can piece together the small events that led to the culminating tragedy and release his findings to the community. 

The Report draws the reader in with intensity and keeps the reader involved throughout the story.   The investigation and interviews with the survivors are well done and intriguing.  The changes within the Bethnal Green community are reflected in the lives of the survivors as the story unfolds leading the reader to think about how our personal tragedies change us.

Look closely at the cover of the book.  Both the front and back covers show pictures of people underground in the air-raid Tube station shelter.  I love the cover and the details about the shelter in The Report.  The story of the book is fascinating on so many different levels.
The Report is published by a local Minnesota press called Graywolf Press.  

Germ Warfare edited by Lupi McGinty

Germ Warfare edited by Lupi McGinty
 An Anthology of Comics for Germs and Their Generous Human Hosts.

Germs are so disgusting they make us all sick.  Literally.  The best way to combat germs this season is to read Germ Warfare and laugh your way to health.  This Anthology, edited by Lupi McGinty, contains 12 different comics by Minnesota writers including two by Lupi herself.  Some of them are laugh-out funny, a couple of them were just OK and others I thought were pure genius.

The first comic starts the war, with germs trying to infiltrate a human host and the humans fighting back with anti-bacterial napalm.  Which leads us to another comedic war during The Great Penicillin where many germs lost their lives.  Eventually the good bacteria are being destroyed by humans because of their fear of germs.  I loved the comic where the parents have to sterilize  everything to keep their baby safe and you see them sinking into the madness of germaphobia.  The war concludes with the building of a germ town on its deceased human host.

The artwork and comedic styles are creative and fun and all related to the common theme of the war between germs and humans.  This is a theme everyone can relate to because we have all been sick or tried in some way to avoid being sick.  Germ Warfare is appropriate for comic readers of all ages.

My advice is to arm yourself with tissue, cough medicine, anti-bacterial napalm, vitamins and whatever else you can think of to stay well.  Don't forget to wash your hands before you touch any germ infested surfaces and then pick up a copy of Germ Warfare.  You are armed and ready to read!

What's in a Name Challenge

What's in a Name Challenge

I see lots of Book Bloggers participate in this challenge and so I thought this year, is my year, to join the fun.  It is the 5th year of the challenge but the first year I am joining in and I am super excited.  I looked at the categories and then on my book shelves and found lots of possibilities.  I think now I am totally obsessing about filling my categories and am trying to find a creepy crawly book on my shelf and it is totally in hiding.  Feel free to leave book suggestions.

If you are interested the challenge is run by Beth at www.BethFishReads.com 

Here are the categories:
Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
4. A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary
6. A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

Other Things to Know

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

Contest: The Personal History of Rachel Dupree

Contest: The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber

Yesterday, I reviewed The Personal History of Rachel Dupree and the publisher has graciously offered, through TLC book tours, to give away one copy of Ann Weisgarber's book to a lucky Booksnob follower.

You can check out my review here:  The Personal History of Rachel Dupree Book Review

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
An award-winning novel with incredible heart, about life on the prairie as it's rarely been seen

When Rachel, hired help in a Chicago boardinghouse, falls in love with Isaac, the boardinghouse owner's son, he makes her a bargain: he'll marry her, but only if she gives up her 160 acres from the Homestead Act so he can double his share. She agrees, and together they stake their claim in the forebodingly beautiful South Dakota Badlands.

Fourteen years later, in the summer of 1917, the cattle are bellowing with thirst. It hasn't rained in months, and supplies have dwindled. Pregnant, and struggling to feed her family, Rachel is isolated by more than just geography. She is determined to give her surviving children the life they deserve, but she knows that her husband, a fiercely proud former Buffalo Soldier, will never leave his ranch: black families are rare in the West, and land means a measure of equality with the white man. Somehow Rachel must find the strength to do what is right-for herself, and for her children.

Reminiscent of The Color Purple as well as the frontier novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Willa Cather, The Personal History of Rachel DuPree opens a window on the little-known history of African American homesteaders and gives voice to an extraordinary heroine who embodies the spirit that built America.

The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber

The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by Ann Weisgarber

Let me introduce you to Rachel Dupree.  Rachel is living in Chicago, working as a cook in a boarding house.  She is a strong minded African American woman who knows what she wants.  She refuses to marry a slaughter house man with no future and instead sets her sights on Issac, the son of her employer.  Issac is a buffalo soldier who has big dreams ranching in South Dakota.  Rachel and Issac make a bargain.  He agrees to marry her and live together for one year, and she agrees to give up her 160 acres share from The Homestead Act.

The story is set in the harsh landscape of South Dakota badlands during a severe summer drought during the year of 1917.  Rachel is pregnant with her seventh child.  Many African Americans became homesteaders but it is a story often not told and rarely heard of.  Rachel and her family faced hardships like any other homesteaders of the time but they also suffered greatly from the racism of the time.  They lived in a sod house, had little or no neighbors and struggled day to day with the challenges of owning large tracks of land.  If you lived on your land for 5 years, you paid for it with your hardships.

The History of Rachel Dupree is a predictable, easy read.  The parts I was most drawn to were the parts where Rachel is starting to piece together the realities of her life and is discovering that she unhappy with what she sees.  Throughout the book she wrestles with a life-changing decision and I found myself rooting for her to stand up for herself. The frontier reeks havoc on the heartiest of souls and Rachel has many regrets.  The ending of the book is bittersweet and will have you on your toes cheering for this woman and her bravery.  Then you will find yourself hoping there is going to be a
sequel.

So Ms. Weisgarber, will there be a sequel?

Prized by Caragh O'Brien Contest

Prized by Caragh O'Brien Contest

Hometown Track, Minnesota Author in the Spotlight, Caragh O'Brien and her publisher, Roaring Brook Press are giving away THREE hardcover copies of Prized to Booksnob followers.  Prized is the long awaited second book in the Birthmarked trilogy. 

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

Prized Contest Rules:
Fill out the form
Leave a comment
Must be a Booksnob follower
Must be a U.S. resident (publisher rules)
Contest Ends 12/31 at midnight.
Good Luck!!!

2012 Reading Challenges

2012 Reading Challenges

I have been giving some serious thought to what kind of reading I want to do in 2012 and the types of books I want to challenge myself to read more of. 

My personal reading challenge this year will be to read 12 Pulitzer prize winning novels, one Pulitzer book a month.  It has been a goal of mine to read all of these books for awhile now and every year they add a new winner and I find myself not able to keep up.  Maybe I will create a button and add a page to my blog in case other bloggers and readers want to join me.  What do you think?  Would you consider this as a reading goal in 2012?  Please let me know if you are interested.

I am also going to join Sheila from Book Journey for her Where Are You Reading? challenge.  This entails trying to read books that take place in each of all the 50 states.  You set up a map in google maps and pinpoint your books location.  You also upload a picture of the book to picassa web albums.  Since I only read about 75 books a year, 50 states may be hard to complete.  I am not planning to alter my reading plans but am curious to see what my reading map looks like at the end of 2012.  It must be the map loving, geography teacher part of me that is so excited for this interesting challenge. 

So far that is my plan for 2012.   I am still debating with myself on whether or not to add other reading challenges to my plate. 

Looking forward to reading in the New Year.

Fatal Incident Contest Winners

Fatal Incident Contest Winners

I am happy to announce the three winners of a hardcover copy of Hometown Track's Minnesota Author in the Spotlight, Jim Proebstle's new novel, Fatal Incident.

1.  Lexi from Apple Valley, MN
2.  Danielle from Alexandria, VA
3.  Chris from Princeton, MN

All of you have been e-mailed and the books should be mailed out shortly.

Congratulations Everyone and thanks for being a loyal Booksnob follower.

If you didn't win, you can order a copy of Jim's book from Amazon.  It would make an excellent gift for the man - reader in your life.  You can check out Jim's website at http://www.jimproebstle.com

December-Hometown Track Minnesota Author in the Spotlight.

December Hometown Track Minnesota Author in the Spotlight.

I discovered December's author this summer when I went to Camp Read-a-Lot and one of the participants had read her book and was raving about it.  She passed the book around and I noticed the author was from St. Paul and so I took a chance and e-mailed her and thankfully she replied.

Without further adieu, December's author is....Caragh O'Brien.  Caragh is a  well-known, young adult author as well as a high school English teacher.  I am thrilled she agreed to be the featured author this month on Booksnob.

Caragh O'Brien has written two novels, Birthmarked and Prized with the third novel on its way.   Here is the synopsis from Goodreads for each of her books.

Birthmarked

In the Enclave, your scars set you apart, and the newly born will change the future.

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants every month. But when Gaia's mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

Prized

Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime.  In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?


This month you can expect an author interview with Caragh O'Brien,  a contest to win a hardcover copy of Prized and a book review of Birthmarked and Prized.  

December in Minnesota is cold and the snow has decided to stay, so it such a great time to curl up by the fire with a good book.  I guess any time of year is a good time to curl up with a good book so I hope you will check out Caragh O'Brien's website and her books at http://www.caraghobrien.com/ and add them to your To Be Read list.   Have a great month!