Growing up is hard to do, especially in this detached, disconnected 21st century-world. Presented as nine "tracks," the vaguely linked stories are reminiscent of the loud, incoherent music intermittently spilling out a young person's ear buds ...
In a barren wasteland of "perpetual night" called Amberground where only the capital city has access to light from an artificial sun, 18-year-old Gauche Suede works as a dedicated tegami bachi (literally 'letter bee'), a mail carrier whom people entrust "with their hearts." Living in a...
Apparently the big book controversy this week (besides the Wal-Mart $10 vs. Amazon $9 pre-order pricing war) is David Small's 2009 National Book Award nomination in the Young People's Literature category for his graphic memoir, Stitches. YA or not YA, that is the question ...
With an enviable literary reputation built on award-winning titles set in China, poet/novelist/short story writer Jin recently debuted his first U.S.-based novel, A Free Life, about the Americanization of a Chinese immigrant family. While the 12 stories in his latest release continue to explore familiar...
"Hadiya's name is not really Hadiya," the editor's note introduces this harrowing, heartbreaking blog-turned-book. "We have used pseudonyms for every Iraqi in this story because each of their lives could be in danger if they were identified. But Hadiya is a real teenager in Mosul,...
The holiday season is fast approaching (already!) so take note now ...
Here's a joyful little gift to share with your children over the long weekend ...
Once upon a time, Kenji wanted to be a rock star guitarist. But somehow, in 1997, he's ended up managing a convenience store with his cranky mother and his missing sister's baby usually strapped on his back. Then he gets word that Donkey, one of...
I should have ordered all 18 volumes in one batch, because I really can't stand the thought of waiting to see what happens! I gladly admit I couldn't put down the four volumes that arrived last night (I originally got the first Monster from the...
Nasreen watches her father being taken away by the Taliban, then loses her mother when she goes out in search of her disappeared husband. Left alone with her grandmother, Nasreen retreats into silence. Her desperate grandmother enrolls Nasreen in a secret school for girls, risking...
Winner of the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Award, Ma's debut collection is made up of 10 stories that each explores the nature of power – from subtle to blatant – in various types of relationships. The strongest is undoubtedly the title story, taken from an off-hand...
Forty-three (yes, 43!) hours is a major commitment to a single book. And in spite of the most eye-rolling, not-so-nicely-talking back to a continuously babbling (for 43 hours, 3 minutes to be exact!) iPod that I have ever done, I will actually admit that Shantaram is...
Volume One: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima Volume Two: The Day After Volume Three: Life After the Bomb Volume Four: Out of the Ashes Volume Five: The Never-Ending War Volume Six: Writing the Truth Volume Seven: Bones into Dust Volume Eight: Merchants of Death Atom bomb. Unimaginable horrors. Survival against all odds. Bearing...
As this volume is currently the last one available in English, I DID try and save and savor it ...
Atom's protector, Professor Ochanomizu, is under police protection, but that doesn't stop the dangerously unpredictable Goji, who created the Persian Kingdom's robot army for the Central Asian War, from making his way into the good professor's home and threatening the safety of his daughter and...
Studio Ghibli and Satoshi Kon are together an empowering exercise in girl power: strong, independent female protagonists of all ages abound in their anime. With countless awards, including a Best Animated Feature Oscar for Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki is one of anime's greatest. His Ponyo...
Certain kiddie authors whose books that my children have outgrown I can't bear to part with – in fact, I keep buying their latest titles anyway, even as my children have moved on to Steinbeck (our now-teenage daughter) and Cisneros (our tween son) to keep...
So I'm jumping on the Monster bandwagon a little late (which debuted in 1995 in Japan to multiple awards but took another 11 years to arrive Stateside in translation) ...
First a little note about the creators: Meomi is a dynamic design duo made up of Vicki Wong, based in Vancouver, and Michael Murphy, who calls Los Angeles home. Together, they also happen to write adorable, colorful kiddie books ...
Historical works about Korea in English – especially during the tragic years of the Japanese occupation (officially 1910-1945) – seem few and far between. So I really wanted to fall madly in love with this debut novel by fellow Korean American Eugenia Kim. While I was grateful for...
