3 stars

Week 38: A Virtuous Woman – Kaye Gibbons

Fall is the craziest time for me at work. It’s my busy season if I were an accountant. My three months of Black Fridays if I were in retail. And it’s a time that I don’t need anything extra going on, but there always is something a little extra. This time it’s an upcoming week off in Boston (timed for the change in season, not my workload) and, of course, this project. So I reached this week for a book I have had for years: A VIRTUOUS WOMAN by Kaye Gibbons.

I fell immediately into this slender love story, told in alternating chapters by Jack Stokes and Ruby Pitt Woodrow, seemingly mismatched lovers with about 20 years separating them. Jack was nothing to look at, but knew the moment he set his eyes on Ruby that she was a girl he could marry. Ruby, having just come out of an abusive marriage was looking for someone safe and kind. It was this connection, a desire to love and be loved, that seemed to work for them.


At the start of the book, we learn that Ruby has succumbed to a difficult and much to early battle with cancer. Jack is stumbling through this loss and it is through his memories and her narrative prior to her death that we learn what a rich love they had, despite or in spite of their circumstances.


A VIRTUOUS WOMAN is a lovely story told with a southern lilt that I always enjoy reading. It’s not a book that will change your world, but one that can take you away from it, if only for a few hours, and expose you to an uncommon but richly told story of enduring love.


Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 176
Genre: Fiction
By |September 26th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Fiction|0 Comments
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Week 32: House of Cards – David Ellis Dickerson

So a funny thing happened on my way back to the office after lunch on October 1, 2009 (and no, I don’t have a freaky good memory, just mad web searching skillz)… I was listening to NPR and came into the middle of some interview with some guy that had written a book and I think greeting cards were somehow involved. And you know how that is when you are coming into a talk radio program trying to catch up and figure out what is going on. Well, I was doing that and navigating the traffic and then all of a sudden I hear Neal Conan welcoming some caller named Tracy to the show and within the first syllable of this Tracy person opening her mouth I realize it’s TracEY and she’s a dear friend of mine from college who I had not seen in about six years. And here she is calling in to say she knows the author, Dave Dickerson and they went to college together and she was so excited to hear of his book and success and just wanted to say hello. And I know there were just too many ands in that paragraph but it really was all that.


AND… how cool and weird that we were all, in some way or some relay, all catching up with some part of each other through Neal’s show. Now, I don’t know Dave, but he sounded very affable and smart and I made a note to look up his book.


Fast forward nine months and Tracey and I are catching up over chips, salsa and a great lunch while she’s in town just for the weekend. I had not picked up Dickerson’s book, HOUSE OF CARDS: LOVE, FAITH, AND OTHER SOCIAL EXPRESSIONS (but I had looked it up and added it to my list to get, really!) In our chatting, she brings up her friend Dave and mentions that they have reconnected and she’s terribly embarrassed, but she needs to excuse herself to send him a text about some reading event that was happening right as we were getting our 37th refills of iced tea because we had been gabbing for that long. Then you know what she says? She says, “Let’s go over to the bookstore and if they have his book… I am getting it for you. I think you will love it.”


Now, I am never one to pass up a book–a free one at that. And, with it being one that was already on my list to get, well picture me pleased while I picture you all wondering if I am ever going to get to my review of it. And, I will. In just a minute. I promise.


So, while I was super excited to get this book, I was also kind of nervous. Tracey knows about this crazy reading project I am doing and she knows I write up reviews of all the books I read. Big deal, right? Well, I haven’t been in a situation where I am friends with someone who is also friends with the writer of one of the books I am actually reviewing. Tracey is cool beyond cool and would want me to be totally honest, which is great. But truth be told, there was a little bit of pressure. Just a tad.


Well thank goodness Tracey knows me as well as she does (college friendship plus 20 years and a facebook reconnection will do that for you). I really adored HOUSE OF CARDS.


The first thing it has going for it is that it’s a memoir. You all have pretty much figured out that I love me some memoir. Secondly, it’s so very well written. Very well. Dickerson is wicked smart (like so smart he creates those crazy puzzles that are published in puzzle magazines for other smarty smartenheimers that I can only imagine exist). He’s also a master with the rhyme and friends with Will Shortz. Yet despite all this and his mighty brains, Dickerson brings the same conversational tone that I overheard while he bantered with Neal and Tracey on NPR back in October. This made reading HOUSE OF CARDS like sitting and having a conversation with an energetic and engaging friend.


Third, it’s really interesting. In addition to getting a glimpse of life at Hallmark (which you would expect to be as warm and fuzzy as the cards they sell, but SPOILER ALERT: It’s not!), you get a peek into the life of a lapsed fundamentalist Christian virgin who at 29 is trying to connect with others and make a name for himself doing what he does best: write.


Hallmark plays a major role in the book. In fact, it’s almost another character. Dickerson describes, with much heart, the challenges and pain we all can feel when we are trying so very hard to fit in, locate like-people, and find our niche in an all-new world. Dickerson had envisioned Hallmark being a perfect landing spot; but, it proved to be one nut that was a pretty tough to crack.


The secondary story line that actually ends up proving to be of primary focus, is that of Dickerson’s personal history and his relationships. Dickerson grew up in an extremely conservative religious environment that he began to question as an adult. Despite initially converting to Catholicism and embracing more liberal views of the world (he’s now an Atheist), he found it hard to break from preconceived notions and beliefs that had guided him for so long. In his time at Hallmark, the rose colored glasses were coming off and it resulted in some hilarious, heartbreaking and cringe-worthy moments that may not be the experiences of the average modern male, but they were his own.


I guess you could say that HOUSE OF CARDS is a story that captures a window of time in the life of a man who is finding his way. A bit of a late bloomer who is finding his stride. A man who definitely has found his niche in the wonderful world of words.


Oh, and if you want to check out his chat with Neal, CLICK OVER HERE.


Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 384
By |August 16th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Memoir|1 Comment
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Week 31: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress – Rhoda Janzen

MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS: You had me at the cover of your delightful looking little book. Yes, it was your cover that had my interest on high alert and my mouse ready to click “Add to Cart”. Then I looked closer and saw that you were a memoir. And you were endorsed by Elizabeth Gilbert of EAT, PRAY, LOVE fame. Well, I just had to add you to my shelf of all of my other impulsive book purchases that I have made but can’t actually make good on reading until some later date because that’s just how I roll.

Fast forward two months and my book club selected it for our August read. Picture me thrilled! Fast forward just a teensy bit more and see me glad to have read it but with a luster that’s faded ever so slightly.


MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS (MENNO) is writer and professor Rhoda Janzen’s memoir of returning to her roots after a devastating car accident that left her physically scarred and the dissolution of her 15-year marriage that emotionally wrecked her. Home for Janzen is her Mennonite community on the west coast, thousands of miles from the midwest and her life of academia. Despite eschewing much about the faith, the food and the conservative upbringing her parents provided, Janzen finds that home is where the healing is.


In a dozen or so chapters, Janzen shares her history, both as a Mennonite daughter and then a codependent wife married to a charismatic yet bipolar, emotionally abusive and ultimately bisexual man who leaves her for another man. Her gift is in her sense of humor and ability to embrace a community that she once left behind. Janzen does this with a very conversational tone, a must for me in a good memoir. She seems very real and someone who would be great to sit next to at a dinner party.


My only real complaint was the number of stories and anecdotes she shared to give the reader a glimpse of her personal history. She crams so many of them into MENNO that I felt that she often interrupted herself to get another story in. And yet there were moments of realization, of reflection and remembrance captured so very eloquently that her talents as a writer can’t be denied. And, it’s this contradiction that has me struggling. I think MENNO is definitely worth a recommendation, but I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone. Oh, how I wanted to remain as totally smitten with this book as when I first laid eyes upon the cover! But I am a little more informed and a little better off for having read it. And I am sure, just like finding the perfect little black dress, this book will be the perfect fit for that special someone.


Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 272
Genre: Memoir
By |August 9th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Book Club, Memoir|2 Comments
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Week 30: Crush It – Gary Vaynerchuk

It’s a slim book this week. The week I am officially back in the office for just one week before I am out for another week. You know how that goes. Busting your ass so you can be out for a week only to come back from a week away to more work than you know what to do with. And then I had to use that week to prepare for another week away. So blah, blah, blah. I am talking in circles and just need to get going with what was going on this week between the covers… ummm book covers, that is!

This week, at the recommendation of a colleague, I read CRUSH IT: WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO CASH IN ON YOUR PASSION by Gary Vaynerchuk. I have a role in my company’s social media strategy and presence and this colleague knows about my love of reading and blogging and this little online nook I have carved out for myself and thought this would be a perfect read for me.


In some instances, CRUSH IT was perfect. At just 160 pages during a crazy busy week, the perfect size of it screamed out to me. It’s also very readable and easy to digest. But in tone and overall impact, CRUSH IT was far from receiving a 5 star rating.


Vaynerchuk is a successful business man, having taken his father’s wine business from a single brick and mortar liquor establishment to multi-million dollar online business. He’s created a highly social, easily accessible online environment for wine lovers to congregate, get informed and buy wine. Vaynerchuk has leveraged social media (and this is more than Facebook and Twitter) to cultivate a space for his business and his customers that is not just all about buying wine. By utilizing different space and newer technology, he’s promoting not just a business but a lifestyle. He’s crushed it. He’s living his passion and wants everyone else to do the same.


And that’s part of the same-old, same-old of CRUSH IT. In many ways, it’s just another book by someone who has made it telling those of us who haven’t to get off our butts, quit our jobs and live our passion. It’s a great idea in theory but so very hard to execute. Maybe that’s the non-risk-taker in me talking… When I get past that, the next hurdle is Vaynerchuk’s explosive energy that really comes across like a multi-level marketing plan sales pitch. I’m all for positive energy and the old go-gettem-tiger! attitude… But CRUSH IT lays it on pretty thick.


When you can get past the get-rich-quick sounding vibe, Vaynerchuk does share some great ideas, gives access to online resources that are both familiar and some very new ones. He also goes out of his way to be a resource and mentor for his readers to help them do whatever it is they love, how to be the very best at it, create a space for it, and at the the end of the day… crush it.


Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 160
Genre: Business
By |August 2nd, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Business|1 Comment
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Week 28: World of Pies – Karen Stolz

The week before you go on vacation always seems to be like regular life, just intensified. Less sleep, more work, less ease, more stress… all just to take a few days off. This week was no different. I was about to pack up the boy and head out to the heartland for a week long visit of rest, cooking out, sleeping in, game nights and sun-kissed skin. I needed an easy book this week, the week before my officially easy week. WORLD OF PIES by Karen Stolz fit the bill perfectly.

This slim collection of stories centers around Roxanne Milner a young girl growing up in small town Annette, Texas in the early 1960s. Each chapter focuses on a time in Roxanne’s life during the critical ages of 12 – 30 something when she’s coming of age and coming into her own. Stolz does a good job creating a picture of Roxanne, her evolving best friendships, awkward first loves and losses all the way into marriage and a family of her own. The town of Annette is charming and a character of its own in the story, with mainstays such as Carl’s Corsets (Roxanne’s father’s lingerie shop and source of embarrassment for her) and Doreen’s (the best place for a burger and malt) which provide the reader a great sense of the community in which Roxanne grew up.

While WORLD OF PIES hearkens back to a seemingly simpler time, Stolz doesn’t shy away from weightier subjects (racism, Vietnam) that are sprinkled throughout the book in a way that remind us where we came from and bring more depth–without overpowering the story–to what could just be retro summer chick lit. But there is a fair amount of chick in this lit and that’s what makes it a perfect summer read. Desserts play a prominent role in WORLD OF PIES, shockingly though, pies are the least mentioned! That was my only complaint with the book. With a title like WORLD OF PIES, I expected them to have more of a feature role. Stolz makes up for this by providing the character’s recipes at the end of the book. A sweet additional treat to an already delightful book.

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 176
Genre: Fiction

By |July 19th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Fiction|2 Comments
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Week 26: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith – Jon Krakauer

On July 27, 1984 brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty brutally murdered their sister-in-law and 15-month old niece. They said it was a directive from God, a “removal revelation.”

In fact, Dan Lafferty’s exact words were, “I was doing God’s will, which is not a crime.”

And so sets the stage for UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN: A STORY OF VIOLENT FAITH by Jon Krakauer, an exhaustive exploration into the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (The Church of Mormon or LDS) and the excommunicated sect, The Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).


I actually sat down with this book in 2003, when I was five months pregnant. While I hadn’t read Krakauer’s previous books, INTO THIN AIR or INTO THE WILD, I knew he was a well-respected non-fiction writer who had received a fair amount of acclaim. After making it through 100 pages, though, I had to put it down. The violence, especially involving the baby was too much to bear while my own baby was growing inside of me and my hormones were all crazy. The historical backstory was especially comprehensive and just too dense for me to really get lost in. Fast forward six years and one of my fellow book clubbers mandated it for her turn hosting this July and here I am again.


The second time around the violence was still hard to read and the history was again dense and slow moving, much like working your way through a thatchy forest, pushing the bark and leaves out of your way to make it to the clearing. That being said, I think this is an important book, flawed and all.


Why?


It’s important to understand history so we can anticipate and plan for the future. It’s important to learn other’s perspectives and their world views in hopes of understanding them. When things go wrong (horribly, horribly wrong), it’s important to be willing to go back–even to the very beginning–to understand how it could have happened. And, hopefully, to do whatever is needed so it doesn’t happen again. However, this becomes infinitely complicated when the horribly, horribly wrong is done in the name of religious freedom.


UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN recounts Ron and Dan Lafferty’s movement into the fundamentalist teachings that sprang from LDS founder Joseph Smith and subsequent self-ordained prophets throughout Mormon history. The FLDS faith is riddled with documented atrocities toward women and girls (including physical, sexual and emotional abuse) placing them outside of an equal role with men, and into one that views them as property. When Ron’s wife Dianna can no longer take his steadily growing controlling nature she leaves him and takes their children across the country. Her departure sets off a downward spiral in Ron, already angry at the world and profoundly narcissistic, who copes through obsessive prayer and requests for revelations from God. Finally, he gets his wish; a direct order to kill his sister-in-law Brenda and her daughter Erica, as well as two other community members, all seen by Ron as having aided in Dianna leaving and disrupting God’s plan for him.


Interestingly though, Ron’s revelation isn’t for him to kill them, but for his brother Dan to do it. He is just the voice, while Dan is the body to carry out the revelation. Ron’s increasing anger and narcissim compounded with Dan’s fervent fundamentalist fanaticism enabled them to “do God’s will” and take lives of two innocent people. Fortunately, they were unable to carry out the other murders due to some circumstances beyond their control.


Horrifying? Yes. Fascinating? Eerily so. Unconscionable? Absolutely. And yet, everything I shared with you was a supporting character to the chapter upon chapter of the starring role: The History of Joseph Smith and the Chuch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is a problem only because the book–on the front cover even–markets itself as a true crime story. I wanted to know so much more about what led up to the murders of Brenda and Erica and just enough history for me to understand the role that violence has played in the FLDS faith. Before closing the book I wanted to know:


When Ron shared his revelation with people of his church, why did no one go to the police?


Why didn’t Brenda’s husband Allen do anything to protect her? Yes, Ron told him too.


Why did no one tell Brenda that they feared for her life?


Why didn’t Krakauer–who had access to both Dan and Ron in prison–have any follow up with Allen?


Why didn’t Erica leave when she had the chance?


I can’t expect all the questions to be answered, most certainly not the last one. These just seem like gaping holes in an account that is so meticulously researched documented. Still, I came away knowing more than when I came in. I came away knowing more clearly the differences between a religious community trying to appeal to the mainstream (LDS) and one that is fervently against the norm (FLDS). I came away knowing that religious fanaticism practiced under a banner of heaven, regardless of the faith being followed, can be horrifically destructive and should not be excused.


Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 432
Genre: Non-fiction
By |July 4th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Non-fiction|1 Comment
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Week 23: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – Alan Bradley

I have always enjoyed a good mystery. It started with the classic Encyclopedia Brown mysteries of my childhood and grew to enjoying the likes of Agatha Christie, Dennis Lehane and Harlan Coben. Now, an expert on the mystery genre, I am not; but I do know when I like something. And I am ready to add Alan Bradley to the list of mystery writers to follow.

A first-time novelist at 70, Bradley has created an engaging heroine in the highly precocious, chemistry loving Flavia de Luce, an 11 year-old super sleuth and the star of THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE. Flavia (Flave) is the youngest of three girls and constantly finds herself at odds with her much older sisters Ophelia (Feely) and Daphne (Daffy). The distance from and desire to terrorize her sisters is a great encouragement for Flave’s love of chemistry, which manifests itself as a passion for poisons. And despite this morbid-sounding affinity, THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE is as delightful as the title and a lovely little read on a hot summer day.

 

 

After brief introductions of the de Luce family, the story opens with a mysterious death at Buckshaw, the de Luce’s English estate, and even stranger leave-behind: a dead jack snipe, with a collectible postage stamp impaled on his beak. Flavia’s father is immediately taken into custody and it’s the young girl’s mission to get to the bottom of this mystery, much to the chagrin of all involved.

 

So much of THE SWEETNESS makes it an engaging story: The all-things-English about the setting and its eccentric cast of characters, the turn of events and the smart-aleck leading lady herself. If I had to mark it down a smidgen, it would be that you really do have to suspend your disbelief to fully appreciate that an 11 year old could really have the knowledge, insight and wherewithal to accomplish what she does. But isn’t that sometimes the joy of a good mystery? The ability to get fully engrossed and let a little of the imagination stretch beyond the realm of logical possibility and wrap up to a satisfying conclusion?

 

This self-proclaimed realist must have found a little soft spot at the bottom of the pie.



Rating: 3 stars

Genre: Mystery
Pages: 416
By |June 14th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Fiction, Mystery|1 Comment
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Week 19: Hand Wash Cold – Karen Maezen Miller

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a trend developing. I don’t get much allow myself to get enough reading done during the week. So I end up saving all 200+, 300+ or even some 400+ page books to devour all day every Saturday (and sometimes into Sunday). Now, this is not a problem if:

a) The book is totally awesome.
b) I can get through it quickly (especially if I am not digging the book).
c) I want to make plans to do something other than reading.


This occurrence of the weekend reading slam-and-cram has, as you can probably imagine, left me feeling a little off-balance, a little chained to the project and a little bit cranky about it. And I haven’t even hit the halfway mark. What’s an over-committed-but soon-to-be-committed-reader-if-I-don’t-make-some-changes-and-fast to do? Chill out and pick up another book that can remind me of the simpler things and how to get in control of myself. Duh.


The book I chose to revolutionize my life–or at least provide some perspective–was Karen Maezen Miller’s HAND WASH COLD: CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR AN ORDINARY LIFE. I came across this book when I was actually searching for another of Miller’s books, Momma Zen, that I found through a blogger I follow, Kerenika. Part memoir, part self-help guide on Miller’s path to finding balance and appreciating life, HAND WASH COLD seemed to fit the bill I needed to pay.


I don’t want to get too much into comparisons (as Miller says that’s one of our biggest problems worrying too much about how others do things, live or navigate the world), but her account had sprinkles of similarity to Elizabeth Gilbert’s wildly successful Eat Pray Love. I say that because, I don’t think this quiet little book has the backing or support of Gilbert’s, but I found it as nugget-worthy about living in the now and living our life’s purpose, whether that’s eating your way through Italy, praying through India or possibly finding love in Indonesia (no spoilers here, but really hasn’t everyone read Eat Pray Love?) as Gilbert did, or becoming a Zen priest as Miller did.


Miller is restless, hyper-critical of herself and unfulfilled. It’s only through the demise of her first marriage and losing everything that she takes time to reflect and take care of herself through focusing on her spiritual health that she finds her way and the real ease that exists in just living life and focusing on the here and now.


Miller is bright and clearly a solid writer. Those factors may have contributed to the book feeling little more literary than conversational, and that’s my only real complaint. I am not knocking a smartly written book. It just created, for me, a bit more distance from her than I would expect when reading such a personal story. Despite this, it did inspire me. I am going to work to make one hour of reading a daily priority. I am going to focus on one thing at a time. I am going to put my phone not just down but away when it’s mommy-kiddo time. I am also going to return to these (among the many other) gems Miller offered up:


On time:

Time doesn’t even exist. You are what exists. Time is what you are doing at the time you are doing it. There is no other time than this, so stop searching for the perfect metaphor for time and pick up the rake already. It’s time to rake, it’s time to cook, it’s time to clean, it’s time to write, it’s time to drive, it’s time to rest, it’s time to pay attention to how we use our time.

On seeking perfection:

We must go farther and completely forget ourselves to see that there is no need to perfect the life that appears before us. It is already perfect as it is.

 

On balance:

When I grow weary of what’s undone or anxious about what’s to come, I remind myself that I am not the maker or the order-taker in this life. I am this life, and it is unfinished. Even when it is finished it will be unfinished. And so I take my sweet time. Time is savored when you take it by the hand.


Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Memior/Spirituality
Pages: 200
By |May 16th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Memoir, Spirituality|4 Comments
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Week 17: Rough Country – John Sandford

Week 17 marks a first for Lara’s Reading Room: I was asked to review a book! Well, actually, Allan of Pop Culture World News was sent the book from the publisher and he passed it to me! Happily, I obliged.

ROUGH COUNTRY is the third in a mystery series (and my first) featuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers. Written by John Sandford, this installment has Flowers pulled from a fishing trip to investigate the murder of Erica McDill. Rich, powerful, well-known but not well-liked, McDill was on vacation at the all-female Eagle Nest resort, resting up before taking ownership interest in her firm and slashing positions, two openly known facts. Also openly known were McDill’s steady relationship with agency partner Ruth Davies, several sexual entanglements she had at the resort and her interest in promoting a band with a questionable history. Throw in years’ old murder that may be connected, a recent murder attempt that may not, a cast of characters with valid motives and a man’s-man-ladies’-man investigator, and you’ve got the makings of a good mystery.


And good mystery it is. Not great, but certainly good.


In 400 pages, Sandford has laid out a well-developed cast of interesting characters and punchy dialogue that moves the story on at a reasonble clip. ROUGH COUNTRY lacked a bit of action, and could have benefited from a few more twists and turns throughout the middle of the story that would have kept me more fully engaged and turning the pages a bit faster. I was also disappointed that the majority of female characters (who were mostly lesbians) seemed to fall into stereotypical behaviors and dialogue, while the commentary from the men about or directed to the women was, at times, cliched. These faults weren’t enough to turn me off of the book, but were worth noting. I thoroughly enjoyed the end, which I thought Sandford wrapped up creatively in certainly with a fourth book in mind.


ROUGH COUNTRY is a perfect book for a lazy weekend or when you are lounging on the sand. As breezy and juicy as that umbrella drink you reach for between the chapters.

 

Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 400
By |May 2nd, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Mystery|3 Comments
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Week 16: Stink: The Incredibly Shrinking Kid – Megan McDonald

It’s Kiddie-lit this week in the Reading Room! At just 102 pages–and that’s with pictures, too!–I just know some of you are thinking:


“Are you for real?”


“Hey, that sounds like an easy out!”


“That can’t count! C’mon now!”


Okay, so perhaps those are really questions I was thinking as I actually attempted a grown up book and got bogged down with too many other things this week. But as I rationalized not finishing the other book, I took comfort in reminding myself that this project will be as successful as I am flexible. And, truth be told, I committed myself to including one of the many books I read to my kiddo in this project.


So, let’s get to it!


STINK: THE INCREDIBLY SHRINKING KID is a delightful book by Megan McDonald, the creator of the ever popular (although never read by me) JUDY MOODY books. James Moody (aka Stink) is Judy’s younger and much shorter brother, who desires what many young boys want: to be bigger. It’s the only thing on his mind until he’s selected by his teacher to care for the class pet, a Newt aptly named Newton.


Hilarity and unexpected outcomes occur at the Moody house when Newton comes home and McDonald has created an enjoyable story that kept both me and my six year old engaged. She realistically conveys the feelings of a young boy growing up in the shadow of an older sister and does so with overall positive messaging. I really appreciated that there wasn’t a heavy focus on potty humor that seems rampant in youth series targeted at young boys.


I should also note that McDonald also scored points with me when she made Stink a lover of homework. I could only hope that’s a key message my guy took from the book.


But when I asked him his favorite part? “When the newt shed his skin.”


Oh, a mother can dare to dream.


Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Children’s
Pages: 102
By |April 24th, 2010|3 stars, 52 Books in 52 Weeks of 2010, Children's Book|2 Comments
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