Fire – Peaceful Reader

My friend Tina is an extremely avid reader and usually has great recommendations. Last time we were at the library together she loaded me up with several good choices. This was one of my favorites!

Something to Hold

Katherine Schlick Noe

2011

250 pages

Something to Hold takes place in 1962 on the Oregon Indian reservation, Warm Springs. Kitty’s dad works for the government forestry service putting out forest fires in the great Northwest. Her family lives on the reservation, which is fine, but she and her siblings will attend the reservation school as well. She’s unsure of how this will go as she already feels uncomfortable feelings from some of the local children. This is such a great description of what Native life would be like then and probably now as well. The story is based on the author’s own growing up experiences and as a reader I enjoyed her recollections immensely. Noe’s website has an interesting biographical information about her years on the reservation.

Quote that made me mad as Mr. Nute their teacher “teaches” them about Columbus Day as they prepare for a celebration honoring Mr. Columbus and the Native children don’t know or understand the state song:

“We are all immigrants,” he says, “And America is the greatest country in the history of mankind. It was established on the backs of those who came before us.”
Mr. Nute pauses for a second to let that sink in, then he unleashes an oration on Columbus Day and the ideals on which this country was founded. All made possible, Mr. Nute tells us, because this one man and a bunch of others who came after him had the courage and vision to seek out this empty and savage New World, to plant their flags so that civilized men could tame it, men like our country’s forefathers and the great exploreres who made the Oregon Territory safe for the pioneers, all of whom sacrificed so much so that we can have the freedom-the unearned and unappreciated luxury-to sit here and wallow in our ignorance.
“Now, let’s take it from the top,” Mr. Nute says quietly. “One more time.” (56)

This is a lesson for Native children? Yes, I know. The audacity. This attitude is still what gets our country into trouble. This story grabbed me as Kitty deals with friendship, bullying, racism, and attitudes. She learns so much about herself in this one important year. Tina said it first so I’m just agreeing and repeating but this one should be honored with an award this year.

A morsel is a tasty bite of something…teasing you to try more or to say “no thanks” but it gives you an idea of what it’s all about. I have a backlog of books to review and the task is overwhelming what with homework, drama camps, and all the other fun things of summer getting in the way I thought this would be a perfect way to share the last four books I’ve read.

Tasty morsels-all delicious in their own way! They are in order as to how I read them not by my enjoyment level.

A Summer Affair by Elin Hildebrand (2008) 478 pages

I read this one on the beach-my first Elin Hilderbrand and I enjoyed her writing very much. This is a quick read about Claire, a young married woman, trying to keep it altogether on the Island of Nantucket. She has a nice home, a handsome husband and several terrific kids. She is asked to cochair an annual charity event which puts her in constant contact with the wealthy Lock Dixon and they have an heated affair. I liked Claire and her friend and sister-in-law, Siobhan, a caterer with her own marital problems. I enjoyed the back story of Claire’s life before she married Jason, which comes up as her first love, Matthew Westfield, is a huge rock star and has agreed to come back and play the Gala to help Claire out. Claire is an artist-a glass blower-and that was a very intricate part of the story and was interesting to learn about the delicacy of her art. I now have more Hildebrand on my to-read shelf!

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (2008) 447 pages

My dear friend Jess in Little Rock introduced my to Picoult a few years ago and I’ve enjoyed most of her collection. This one is about a mother, June, whose husband dies unexpectantly leaving her alone with their young daughter, Elizabeth. June later marries Kurt, the police officer, who helped her out of the car wreck that killed her husband. And one day 5 years into the future June and Kurt are expecting a second daughter when Shay Bourne arrives to help them out of a construction mess. Picoult’s tales are complex and I’m not going to give you much more but the story is told through alternating voices; June’s, Michael’s, a young priest, Maggie’s, a ACLU lawyer-(my favorite character) and Lucius, a vibrant man with a few regrets. I thought the death penalty issues were well done and the whole mystical idea that Shay Bourne may or may not be Jesus was an interesting concept. This one was predictable though-I could see Kurt’s flaw pretty quickly but not a bad read.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2009) 196 pages

I loved this little book and sat right on my comfy sofa and read almost the whole thing in one sitting. Cried quite a lot. Has some similar themes to Before I Fall without all the mean girl stuff. This one has a cast of characters to love: Mia, her rock and roll family and Adam, the to-die-for-boyfriend. Mia plays the cello and loves classical music contrasting with her father who played drums in a hipster band and her boyfriend who plays in an alternative band. It has lots of musical references and I enjoyed Mia’s non-traditional family. This one is really well-written and I could easily read it all over again. Now I need to get my hands on the second one, Where She Went.

Fire by Krisine Cashore (2009) 461 pages

I am pretty darn excited to cross both of Fire and Graceling off my to-read list and I’m liked them both. Fire is about the Seven Kingdoms of which Cashore refers to in Graceling but does not continue Katsa and Poe’s story. That was a bit of shock to me but once I got past it I liked Fire just fine. After all it does say “companion to Graceling” not sequel to Graceling. Fire is a vibrant colored monster in the Dells born from a human mother and a monster (and cruel) father, Cansrel. Both parents have died and Fire lives in a small house on the estate of Lord Brocker and his son, Archer. There are some unrest issues in the kingdom and Fire is asked to come to King City to meet with Nash, the king and Brigan, his brother and commander of the king’s army. I like the world that Cashore has created. This one was very good. Click on the title to read my review of Graceling.

The Smarty Owl has a great full-length review on Fire that is worth reading.

I hope your week has been blissful and full of reading!

Tag: Fire

Another Outstanding elementary fiction

Book Morsels