The Nix

The Nix by Nathan Hill

This book tells the story of a son whose mother abandoned him when he was just 11 years old. Fast forward

two decades, and his mother is thrust back in his life when she commits an act of political protest that gets her in hot water with the law. This sets the son on a journey to understand her mother's past, which includes a brief but intense period living in Chicago in 1968 in the days leading up to and including the famous protests at the Democratic National Convention.

I really liked this book. The author did a great job of bringing the characters to life, of giving the reader insight into their interior lives and making you sympathetic to their flaws. In addition, I liked how it jumped back and forth in time, filling the reader in with enough details to deepen their understanding of the events in question while leaving enough mystery to make them want to read on. Though this was a big book, at more than 500 pages, I flew through it. Highly recommended.

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

In this book, the author re-imagines the underground railroad as if it really were what we all thought it was

when we first learned about it: A literal underground railroad line stretching from the slave-holding south to the free north. The book follows the journey of one slave as she navigates this line. Along the way, she stops in several different states, each one of which is representative of a different time period in Southern history. The character starts in Georgia, which has slavery pretty much as we know it, and soon finds herself in South Carolina, where it appears black people are free -- much like they were in the early 20th century. In reality, though, there is only the illusion of freedom, as she finds out very quickly.

In the end, I found all the praise of Whitehead's book a little misguided. His conceit seems little more than a gimmick. For example, he never really has a good explanation for why the runaway slave has to stop in each state. If it's a railroad, why can't she simply ride it all the way to the north? Whitehead throws in small complications, but they don't really make sense. In addition, I'm not sure what he was trying to achieve by turning the metaphorical railroad into a literal one. It doesn't really change the experience of being a runaway, or really shed any new light on what it was like to live in that time period. It was a good read, but not nearly as profound and enlightening as the book powers-that-be seem to think it is.

Mr. McCormick
 
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 Mr. McCormick
 
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Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Belzhar tells the story of a high-school girl named Jam whose life is thrown into crisis by the death of her boyfriend. Though they were only together, as Jam continually points out, for 41 days, it was an intense relationship that made Jam feel like someone really got her. Unable to snap Jam out of her depression, her parents send her to a boarding school in Vermont for "troubled" teens. There she encounters other adolescents struggling with loss as well as a special English class that teaches her about much more than literature. Little by little, we learn about what happened between Jam and her boyfriend -- and the final analysis definitely isn't what you expect.

I was drawn to this book because of its author, Meg Wolitzer, who wrote a great book for adults called The Interestings. I loved the way that book created a set of characters so real I felt like I knew them. Wolitzer does something similar with Belzhar, but this book is much more plot driven. Wolitzer did a great job sprinkling suspense and magic throughout the book that kept you wanting to know more, to read on, to turn the next page. And the twist at the end was at once heartbreaking and hopeful. Turns out, what other people might see as a minor setback others find an earth shattering event. There are some mature themes in the book, including some references to drugs and homosexuality. In addition, romantic relationships play a pretty big part in the book. But it was definitely a page turner.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

This book tells the story of Colin Singleton, a child prodigy who happens to have a "thing" for girls named Kathrine. The problem is, Katherines have a "thing" for him, too -- a thing for dumping him. So far, Colin has had the pleasure of being dumped by nineteen Katherines. To get over his latest dumping, Colin and his Arabic speaking friend, Hassan, take a road trip and end up spending the summer in the aptly named Gutshot, Tennessee, where the mourning Colin tries to create a mathematical formula to predict the outcomes of romantic relationships.

If you've read a John Green book before, many of the rhythms of An Abundance of Katherines will be familiar. The characters are hyper expressive, incredibly intelligent, proudly snarky, and endearingly nerdy. I don't think this reaches the heights of The Fault in Our Stars, but if you like John Green this is worth a read.

The Crossover

This is the story of two basketball-obsessed twin boys, Josh and Jordan Bell, and their ailing father, who was once a basketball superstar. The two boys are trying to lead their team to a league championship while navigating the trials and tribulations of middle school: jealousy, class, friendships -- and girls.

The story is told in a series of poems, which makes this a quick read. I was a bit disappointed with the poetry, which seemed pretty basic and bland. Where were the metaphors and similes? The symbolism? The deeper meaning?

But the story was definitely compelling, and you might not care much about the quality of the poetry. If you like sports and a fast-paced story, this could be a good option for you.

The Breadwinner

This is a story that is torn from the pages of real life Afghanistan, where the Taliban, a group of religious fanatics, took over in the 1980s and ruled until the US invasion of the country in 2001. The Taliban imposed strict religious law, which, in their mind, meant removing almost all rights from women and girls. They weren't allowed to go out in public without a robe called a burka, which covered them from head to toe, or without a male escort. They weren't allowed to attend school. They weren't allowed to work. And anyone who dared question their ideas was thrown into prison indefinitely.

This is what happens to the father of a young girl named Parvana. Without a male in her household, it becomes her job to disguise herself as a boy and make her way into Kabul's bustling marketplace to make a living for her family. It's a dangerous task that constantly leaves the reader wondering whether Parvana will be able to pull it off. This is a great book for anyone wondering what life is like in other countries.

Bone Gap

Something isn't quite right in Bone Gap. People have a way of "disappearing," including Roza, who had recently arrived in town and vastly improved the lives of Finn and his brother, Sean. With her departure, the two brothers' -- orphaned since their mother left them for Oregon -- lives lost their magic. Finn, though, never loses his determination to get her back.

Usually, I'm a stickler for realistic fiction; I've never much cared for fantasy or even "magical realism," the mixing of fantastic elements with down-to-earth reality. But I couldn't put this book down. Each chapter tells the story from a different character's point of view and toggles between multiple plot lines. This kept me interested throughout the book. Highly recommended.

Enchanted Air

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings

By Margarita Engle

In this memoir, Engle uses poetry to tell the story of growing up with a foot in two cultures. Her mother was

Cuban while her father was American. While Engle spent most of her childhood in Los Angeles, she also frequently visited her mother's family in Cuba, an island she loves dearly. Engle is just learning to come to terms with her "dual" identity when revolution strikes Cuba. All of a sudden, Engle's two worlds collide, throwing her world in turmoil. You might like this book if you enjoy poetry and learning about the past.