THE MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE by Monique Polak

Noah is headed to the edge of nowhere.  He is going to spend some time with his father who teaches at the Inuit school in George River located in northern Quebec.  His mother thinks this will give him an opportunity to get to know the father he only hears from once a week by phone. 

Leaving his active life in Montreal to head into a snow-filled wilderness, doesn't seem too thrilling.  It doesn't take long for something to happen though.  On his first day in George River, Noah decides to brave the frigid temperatures and go for a run.  He offers to take his father's dog along so the animal can get some needed exercise.  Just minutes into the run, a pickup truck races by and hits the dog throwing the animal into the air.  Noah watches in horror as the dog hits the ground and then lies in a pool of blood.  With the help of one of his father's friends, they take the dog back to the apartment and are able to assess the damage.  With care and rest, it appears the dog will survive.

Noah's father insists that Noah get involved in the community as quickly as possible.  He meets some of the locals at a storytelling event where he begins to see that fitting in will be a challenge.  The Inuit people may be artful storytellers, but they are far from welcoming when it comes to the white man.  Much of their history has been disrupted and damaged by the actions and interference of outsiders.

Author Monique Polak was inspired to write THE MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE after traveling in northern Quebec.  As she shares Noah's experiences, she is able to clearly describe the vast, snow-filled area that at first looks bleak and barren to Noah, but later becomes a place he is beginning to appreciate.  This book has an interesting mix of people problems, action and adventure, as well as self-discovery.  Readers get a glimpse into a part of the world most never experience.

STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER by Bich Minh Nguyen

STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER is described as a memoir.  Nguyen shares her experiences as a Vietnamese refugee coming to America in 1975. 

When the Nguyen name appeared on the list, there were three areas in the US offering to sponsor families.  According to Bich (pronounced Bit) Nguyen, her family rejected California as "warm but had the most lunatics" and Wyoming as having "cowboys" which left the only remaining option - Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Settling in Grand Rapids, placed Bich, her older sister, her father, and grandmother, in the middle of a Christian Reformed Dutch community.  Their traditional Buddhist beliefs raised many eyebrows in their neighborhood and school lives.  Bich tells of her father's job at the North American Feather Company where he made feather pillows and comforters and brought home rejected bedding for the family.  While he worked, the girls were under the care of their grandmother until he met and married a Hispanic woman named Rosa.  Their family then included a step-sister and soon a new baby brother.

Much of STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER involves adjusting to life in America.  Once the girls started school, exposure to American culture increased beyond the influence of TV.  Most temptations in the early years came in the form of new and amazing food like candy, fast food, and convenience foods they observed and wished for constantly.  Bich's descriptions of all the tasty treats points out the glutinous importance Americans place on food.

Scattered throughout the pages are interesting facts about Vietnamese culture and Buddhist traditions.  As a family, the Nugyens struggled to fit into their new surroundings but also remain true to their own beliefs and customs.  It is clear in reading STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER, that Bich's family experiences mirror those of every family and are remembered at times fondly and at other times painfully. 

I read this book as part of an upcoming program at my public library intended to highlight the history of the Vietnamese in Michigan.  I am looking forward to learning more.

THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN by Susan Beth Pfeffer

THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN is the third book in the series by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  This book returns to the original cast of characters in LIFE AS WE KNEW IT. 

It has been almost a year since the meteor hit the moon and changed life forever for Miranda and her family.  Against the odds they have survived, and Miranda has continued to chronicle their experiences in her diaries.  Some things have improved - they do have electricity once in awhile and food is still delivered to city hall on a fairly regular basis, however, fewer and fewer people are around.  Most have just not survived. 

Miranda is still living with her mother and her two brothers and the family cat, Horton.  The sunporch with its woodburner is the center of their existence.  With the approach of warmer weather, they venture out on bikes to scavenge useful items from nearby neighborhoods.  They find things like toothpaste, toilet paper, and other odds and ends that make life seem a bit more pleasant.  Miranda's mother even gives the boys permission to leave for a few days to try their luck fishing on the Delaware River.  They return with two garbage bags of shad, but the shocking news is that 19 year old Matt returns with a wife.

Syl says she has traveled from place to place ever since the meteor hit, surviving thanks to the kindness of strangers and her own wits.  When she and Matt met in an abandoned motel near the river, they stayed up all night talking and decided they were meant to be together.  Once the initial shock of being a mother-in-law and having another mouth to feed wears off, Laura decides to accept Syl, and as a family, they carry on.

A knock at the front door brings yet another surprise.  Miranda's father, her step-mother, and their new baby arrive.  They are traveling with a man named Charlie and two teenagers named Alex and Julie.  They never made it to the west coast to find Lisa's family.  Delay after delay and months in refugee camps discouraged them, so they have returned to be with family here. 

Now there are new challenges to be faced.  Can everyone live in peace in their cramped quarters?  Will the people at city hall increase the amount of supplies they pick up each Monday?  Is having her father back with them a blessing or a curse?  Time will tell.

It didn't take long to get back into the lives of Miranda and her family.  Pfeffer provides great detail as she describes life after the worldwide disaster.  Just like the first two books, the despair and fear present in this new world will stay with me for quite some time.  Miranda and her family make it painfully obvious how easily everything could be ripped away from us and how difficult it would be to survive.

CHASING BROOKLYN by Lisa Schroeder

CHASING BROOKLYN is a story about loss and recovery.  No two people grieve in the same way, but when they work together to move on, progress can be made.

Brooklyn has lost twice.  First her boyfriend Lucca died.  It's been a year, and she struggles every day.  Recently, her friend Gabe died from an overdose.  He had been helping her deal with Lucca's death, and now he's gone, too.

In an effort to move through the stages of grief, Brooklyn began writing letters to Lucca.  She poured out her anger, her fears, and her frustrations in daily letters to her lost love.  When the letters weren't enough, she knew she could talk to Gabe, but then he chose to leave her, too, and now, since his death he has begun to appear in her dreams.  The dreams are frightening and far from comforting.  She feels alone and unable to express the danger she feels from these dreams.

Help and support come from an unexpected direction.  Brooklyn begins to renew her friendship with Lucca's brother Nico.  He is battling his own demons.   Lucca is sending messages from beyond the grave directing Nico to help Brooklyn.  Unsure about exactly how to go about helping her, he hesitantly makes contact and hopes that Brooklyn doesn't misinterpret his kindness as an attempt to replace Lucca.

Both Brooklyn and Nico are struggling to understand and make sense of the deaths two very important people.  Perhaps if each can get passed their nervousness and insecurities, they can lean on each other and begin the healing process.

Author Lisa Schroeder really knows how to touch the hearts of her readers.  The powerful emotions of lost love and the sorrow of death ring out clearly in CHASING BROOKLYN.  Although her characters have every reason to shut down and isolate themselves from the world, Schroeder finds a way for them to connect and guide each other through the painful process necessary to carry on.  If you have read I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME or FAR FROM YOU, you will not want to miss CHASING BROOKLYN.

THE LAB by Jack Heath

Created as part of a program called Project Falcon, Six has always known that he is different.  When a suspicious fire destroyed the facility where Six was "born", he survived and was raised by the Deck.  Now he works for them as they try to right the wrongs of the leaders since the Takeover.

Six's official name is Agent Six of Hearts.  As an employee of the Deck, he is sent on missions to shut down enemy operations and recover hostages.  Using talents created through his unique DNA, he is able to do things the average human can't even imagine.  Those who give him the incredibly dangerous assignments are always amazed that he succeeds without the use of deadly force.

THE LAB is a typical spy-thriller, adventure novel.  There are the good guys and the bad guys, but they throw in some double-agents to add to the action.  Set in the future after a worldwide event that caused a "fog" which shortens lives and threatens the very survival of the planet, sci-fi fans will also find this an interesting read.  This is the beginning of a series featuring Six, and book two, REMOTE CONTROL, is available now.

WINNER OF LIAR by Justine Larbalestier

The lucky winner of the LIAR contest is *MEGAN*

Congratulations! 

I'll be announcing a new contest SOON!!

PUSH by Sapphire

The story of Precious Jones is incredibly powerful.  It might even require a word of caution - the language is strong and the images are horrible.  Yet, PUSH is a book that speaks the truth for many victims of sexual abuse.  As I read, I lost count of the number of times Precious's revelations caused me to gasp. 

Precious is a sixteen year old black girl about to give birth to her second child.  This child and the baby with Down's Syndrome she gave birth to at age twelve both share the same father and that father is Precious's father, too.  As she tells her story, she recalls abuse that began when she was only three.  Instead of protection, her mother offered only jealous rage, threats, and beatings.  Now her father is gone, and her mother blames that on Precious, too.

Unable to read or write, life looks hopeless for Precious until she learns of a special school.  With it comes the promise of a GED and maybe more.  With a little help, Precious is enrolled, and after a frightening first day, she begins to connect with Blue Rain, the teacher of the pre-GED classroom.  Precious discovers there are others just like her, with tragic stories and messed up lives.  She works hard to catch up and prove that she can be worth something to herself and her children.

PUSH by Sapphire is the book that inspired the movie PRECIOUS.  It's not surprising that this heart-wrenching story would capture the attention of some movie producer or director.  Right now I'm still digesting the horror that is life for Precious and don't know if I will ever go to see the movie.  All I do know is that this young girl and her story will be staying in my mind for a very long time.