A.J. Cattapan

This book is sort of “dystopia before dystopia was cool.” Dystopian fiction has been quite popular during the last decade, from The Hunger Games trilogy to the Divergent trilogy (final come books out October 22!). However, authors have long been telling tales about not-too-distant futuristic times in which the world has the possibility of becoming perfect but is actually quite imperfect instead.

Z for Zachariah was published first in 1974, at a time when nuclear war was an all too present threat. This book may be more apocalyptic than dystopian, but it definitely has a similar feel.

Title: Z for Zachariah

Author: Robert C. O’Brien

Genre: science fiction

Age group: young adult

Synopsis: By some miracle of geography, the valley where sixteen-year-old Ann Burden lives remains practically untouched by a nuclear war that has destroyed the rest of the world. Outside the valley is only death and destruction. Determined to see if there are any other survivors, Ann’s parents leave the valley. Ann survives alone in the valley for a year without any sign of return from them. Finally, a man in a strange green suit appears. He is a scientist and has found a way to survive in the radiation-filled world outside the valley. Ann begins to dream of building a new life with this man, but he has other ideas.

This book is definitely more young adult than middle grade because of some mature topics, but it’s still quite tame compared to many YA books today. I enjoyed this “what if” premise. What if you were left alone and you thought the survival of the human race depended on you and one other person? What risks would you be willing to take to secure your own survival?

When the penultimate season of How I Met Your Mother aired last May, I blogged about how monumental a task the writers would have in order to make us fall in love with the woman Ted will marry. After watching the opening of the final season Monday night, I think the writers did some things completely right and other things completely wrong (or at least, sort of wrong).

SPOILER ALERT! If you DVR’d the show but haven’t watched it yet, you may want to hold off on reading this blog post.

What they got right:

There’s a book on screenwriting called Save the Cat by Blake Snyder that many writers use to help them structure their plots. One of the points Snyder makes is that the author must make us fall in love with the hero/heroine early on. One of the best ways to do that, claims Snyder, is to give the hero a scene in which he saves a cat. This doesn’t have to be a literal cat that the hero saves. Rather, the hero simply has to do something good for another human being so that we see him as a empathetic character.

By the way, this is how authors sometimes get us to like guys who are sort of “bad guys.” As long as they show empathy for another human being, we don’t care if they’re not perfect. We just have to know that our hero is a good guy deep down.

The screenwriters for How I Met Your Mother got this right because the first real interaction we see between her and another cast member involves her saving Lily from a bad situation. Lily’s just ditched Ted on the way Barney and Robin’s wedding. She’s upset because her husband and baby are still in Minnesota, and her mother-in-law keeps sending annoying pictures of the baby in order to get Lily and Marshall to not move to Italy. The Mother comes to the rescue when she meets Lily on the train, overhears her muttering to herself, and offers her a homemade cookie and a sympathetic ear. Cat saved!

What they may have gotten wrong:

I’m not an expert on plot structure for romantic comedies, but a number of my friends write romances, so I have a little idea of what is expected in terms of how the characters are introduced. While I can’t remember the exact number, I know there’s a belief out there that the hero and heroine should meet within the first X number of pages. Again, I don’t remember the exact number, but it’s fairly early on. The reader shouldn’t be kept guessing who the hero and heroine are.

On this count, the screenwriters of HIMYM got this wrong right from the start. Perhaps, this is why so many people out there still think he should end up with Robin. Or at least, Victoria, who was introduced during season 1.

That being said, you can break the rules now and then. I still believe they can make us fall in love with the Mother.

Another thing they may have gotten right:

They threw in a flash-forward scene in which the Mother and Ted are back at the hotel (a.k.a. the scene of the wedding where they met), and the two of them are very happy together. Seeing Ted so happy with the Mother would make most fans of the show like the Mother. After all, if Ted loves her so much, and we want Ted to be happy, then this woman must be all right after all.

Then again . . .

In this flash-forward scene, we see Ted and the Mother kiss. Oh. Anticlimax. Usually, in a romance, we work our way up to the big kiss. Anybody else remember how Victoria made Ted close his eyes before they kissed, and then she disappeared? Why did she disappear? Because the anticipation of the kiss can often be the best part of it!

So I think we may have seen the first kiss between the two of them too soon. There’s no build-up to it. Their first kiss has just become an anticlimax!

Despite all that, I’m still looking forward to seeing how they tie everything up in this last season.

Did you see the season opener? What did you think of it?

Child labor in sweatshops was a common practice in America in the 1800s and early 1900s. Unfortunately, it still exists in some countries today. In her book Boys Without Names, Kashmira Sheth imagines the story of one eleven-year-old boy tricked into working in a sweatshop in India.

Title: Boys Without Names

Author: Kashmira Sheth

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Gopal lives in a small village in India with his parents and twin younger siblings. In order to free themselves from their poverty, they pack their few belongings to move to the city of Mumbai. However, Gopal’s dad disappears along the way. Gopal manages to get his mom and siblings to his uncle’s home in Mumbai, but he knows he must earn money to help pay for their food and his schooling. When another boy tells him of a possible job, Gopal is tricked into working in a sweatshop where the owner does not allow the boys to talk or even use their real names. The boys are forced to work for no money and little food. Late one night, Gopal begins to tell the other boys stories, and he realizes that these stories may be the key to their escape.

I enjoyed this book, and I know at least one of my students read it this summer and also enjoyed it. For most kids, it will be a real eye-opener as to what children in other countries endure. Gopal’s simple existence illuminates just how extravagant our American homes really are. When Gopal moves into his uncle’s home, he is amazed to see a small TV there. However, he doesn’t turn it on for fear he might not do it correctly and accidentally break it.

I’ll admit I didn’t expect to like this book when I first picked it up. It’s on my school’s summer reading list and the 2014 Rebecca Caudill nominee list. However, I must admit it was a pleasant surprise. I found myself caring for the characters far more than I thought I would, and the book gives good insight into a culture most of us never pay attention to.

The book takes place in Burma (which is now often called Myanmar). My initial limited knowledge of Burma came from the fact that I once played Tuptim in a production of The King and I. Tuptim was a “gift” from the King of Burma to the King of Siam. Yep, limited knowledge.

I started to learn a bit more about the country when working on research projects with my students. The students needed to research a leader (political, religious, business), and the school librarian suggested I use Aung San Suu Kyi as an example because none of the kids would probably pick her. If you’re not familiar with her, she’s a civil rights activist in her home country of Burma/Myanmar. Her dad was actually one of the key players in Burma’s independence from Great Britain. Now Suu Kyi demonstrates peacefully for a democratic government in her country. (Unfortunately, they went from being ruled by Britain to being ruled by a very militaristic government.)

This story opened my eyes to an entirely different struggle for the people in Burma.

Title: Bamboo People

Author: Mitali Perkins

Genre: contemporary fiction

Age group: YA

Synopsis: The story begins from the perspective of Chiko, a Burmese boy whose father was taken by the government. He is not allowed to read anything not approved by the government, so he hides his father’s stash of books. He and his mother live in fear and hunger, so he decides to answer a newspaper ad looking for young men to become teachers. When he arrives, he is swept off into the military like many other boys his age. The boys are told they must be patriotic and fight to rid their land of the Karenni, one of the many ethnic minorities in Burma. Halfway through the story, we switch perspectives. We follow the story from the perspective of Tu Reh, a young Karenni boy whose home was destroyed by Burmese soldiers.

To tell anymore of the story would give too much away. I’m not sure yet how kids will react to the story, but I found it to be a fascinating look into a very different culture.

If you follow children’s books at all, you’ve probably heard of this one already, but just in case you haven’t, here’s a book for all you fantasy lovers out there.

Title: Fablehaven

Author: Brandon Mull

Genre: fantasy

Age group: middle grade

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Kendra and her eleven-year-old brother Seth are sent to stay at their grandparents’ house while their parents are on a cruise. However, when they arrive, Grandma is missing, and with the help of some magical milk, they discover that their grandparents’ home in the woods is much more than it first appears to be. Their grandfather is the guardian of Fablehaven, a magical place where mystical creatures (satyrs, witches, fairies) go to keep from becoming extinct. However, strict rules govern Fablehaven, and if those rules are broken, terrible evil is unleashed.

A good number of my students have read this book and enjoyed it. It’s a little like the Sisters Grimm series, except I’d say the Fablehaven series (yes, this is just the first one) is darker in general. If your kid is easily scared, I wouldn’t recommend they read this one at night before going to bed.

Overall, it’s a fun, imaginative read that will please fantasy lovers of all ages.

I can’t believe I haven’t written about this book already! I found it several years ago, and it’s been a favorite to give as a gift to my nieces.

Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Author: Grace Lin

Genre: fantasy/folklore

Age group: middle grade

Summary: Minli lives in a small village in the shadow of “Fruitless Mountain” (so called for the little bit of “fruit” it bears). Like the rest of the villagers, she and her parents live in a poor hut and scrape together a simple existence. To pass the time, her father tells her many fantastical stories involving the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who is supposed to know the answers to all life’s questions. Minli decides to set off on an adventure to find the Old Man on the Moon in order to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. Along the way, she meets an incredible cast of characters.

I love stories where the pieces all “fit” together in the end in a way that is totally unexpected. (Hmm, perhaps this is why I love mysteries so much.) One of the things I love about Grace Lin’s novel is that the stories Minli’s father tells (which are these wonderful Chinese folklore stories in and of themselves) fit perfectly into what happens during Minli’s adventure.

Also, the book is simply gorgeous. In addition to being a talented author, Grace Lin is also a wonderful illustrator. Her beautiful full-color drawings accompany her tale. (I am extremely jealous. 🙂 )

I highly recommend this one!