Heroes for My Daughter by Brad Meltzer
17 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Biography, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
What an ideal post for today ...
BookDragon Parent/child relationship Tag
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
10 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction
Two-thirds of the way through Julian Barnes' novel, which won the latest coveted Man Booker Prize, the protagonist's ex-wife quietly tells him, "'Tony, you're on your own now.'" Indeed, Tony Webster – middle-aged, retired, divorced (albeit rather amicably), his only child immersed with her own family – is seemingly...
between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys
05 Jun, by in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Russian, Young Adult Readers
First of all, please do not confuse this spectacular title with that OTHER Shades of Grey. Not that any comparison is even merited, but gray – notice spelling difference – hit shelves more than a year before Grey (March 2011 vs. April 2012), and gray is indisputably...
Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Finds Love, Healing, and Double Happiness by Loung Ung + Author Interview [in Bookslut]
04 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Cambodian, Cambodian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Young Adult Readers
When I recently met Loung Ung in person at one of her Washington, DC readings, we were the lone Asian women in the room. Yes, get ready with your "uh-oh." Within minutes, a random stranger asked if Ung and I were sisters. Surprisingly, I behaved...
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
03 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
For a couple of days, I went back and forth with The Snow Child stuck in my ears (which the inimitable Debra Monk – one of my favorite stage actors ever! – happens to narrate, oh wow!) and reading Ruta Sepetys' between shades of gray on the page...
Avatar: The Last Airbender | The Promise (Parts One and Two) created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, script by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru, lettering by Michael Heisler
01 Jun, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Young Adult Readers
Reacting to the final page with 'oh, crud' is actually a good thing, especially if it's something like 'OH, CRUD ...
Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher
22 May, by in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Arab, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Memoir, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Translation, Young Adult Readers
Guy Delisle is a graphic genius who draws what he sees – simply and unadornedly – with droll, minimal commentary, and creates some of the most poignant, effective, resonating memoirs ever. French Canadian Delisle has undoubtedly found international fame as a traveling artist: he recreated his temporary assignments...
Gods without Men by Hari Kunzru
21 May, by in Adult Readers, Audio, British Asian, Fiction, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American
Most of the time, I love stories that require fitting together seemingly disjointed pieces; my brain feels delightfully tickled with the challenge. And, of Hari Kunzru's novels – Gods being his fourth and latest – I much appreciated both The Impressionist and Transmission [no, I've not yet read My...
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Erdağ M. Göknar
18 May, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Repost, Translation, Turkish
Mixed in with the many death-and-destruction titles I've been reading the last few months, my most recent choices inadvertently seem to have an added layer of death-and-destruction-in-the-name-of-God. Too many books, regardless of genre or target audience, seem to offer irrefutable proof that the rules and...
Peiling and the Chicken-Fried Christmas by Pauline Chen
03 May, by in Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Taiwanese American
Don't let the seasonal title fool you ...
Birdie Flies Away | Pararillo se va volando by Kat Aragon, illustrated by Andrea Yomtob
30 Apr, by in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x
Billed as "the nation's only bilingual children's book publisher dedicated to Parent Involvement," Lectura Books is actively working to change some startling statistics: One in four children under age 5 is Hispanic/Latino, but according to the Department of Education, whose who identify as Hispanic or Latino have...
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
29 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Australian, Fiction, Young Adult Readers
I probably shouldn't have been so surprised when a wonderful literary friend (who is also a children's literature expert, professor, and recent judge for one of those major book awards) remarked that in Markus Zusak's native Australia, this and his unforgettable The Book Thief were initially not...
Scat and Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
28 Apr, by in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
Mega-bestselling author Carl Hiaasen might write formulaic young adult titles, but he's just so goofball funny, it's hard to put his books down – not to mention the covers are so irresistible, too. Following the massive success of his YA debut Hoot (which also got...
A Bride’s Story (vols. 2-3) by Kaoru Mori, translated by William Flanagan
27 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Central Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
What began as a visual marvel in volume 1, surely does not disappoint in the continuing two volumes. 'Exquisite' still hardly does the panels justice, but just know that every page will make you want to linger to discover and enjoy the glorious details – the...
A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez [in Christian Science Monitor]
26 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Haitian, Latina/o/x, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost
Neither Julia Alvarez nor her husband Bill can remember exactly when she fell in love with a Haitian boy named Piti. But both distinctly recall the first meeting, which happened in 2001 on one of their many trips to Alvarez’s native Dominican Republic. “[S]hort and...
Children of Manzanar edited by Heather C. Lindquist
24 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Japanese American, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers
The PR materials that arrived with this remarkable title contains one of the most effective descriptions of the Japanese American imprisonment during World War II I've ever read: " ...
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
22 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
"To start with, look at all the books." Thus opens Jeffrey Eugenides third and latest novel with another memorable first-line zinger – most definitely three for three. Alas, what follows that fabulous start isn't nearly quite as zingy. So far, Eugenides is averaging a new title about...
Ichiro by Ryan Inzana
19 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
A shape-shifting teapot which releases a mischievous tanuki when heated. A fatherless hapa Japanese American boy headed to Japan to stay with his mother's father whom he barely knows. Two stories, two cultures, two vastly different worlds, all intertwine to create a fantastical adventure in Ryan Inzana's surprising,...
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai
13 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American
How silly of me for waiting so long to read this, the venerable Anita Desai's latest, when I've had the galley for almost a year (it pubbed last December). Instead, I've slogged through too many disappointing, tedious, nightmare-inducing titles when I could have been celebrating...
20th Century Boys (vol. 20) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller
11 Apr, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
Manga addict though I am, I DO try to keep manga posts spaced out, so I don't look TOO panel-dependent (even though I am!). But right now, I can't contain my effusive excitement over the latest volume of 20th Century Boys – which hit shelves yesterday! –...