Ten Miles Past Normal - Frances O'roark Dowell

Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'roark Dowell
I've only read two of Dowell's middle grade novels and loved both. Shooting the Moon and The Secret Language of Girls. This is the authors first YA novel. 14 yr old Janie lives on a farm, which was cool when she was younger not so much in high school. The kids on the bus call her farm girl. When Janie accidentally get on the bus with goat poop on her shoe, she has a very bad day. Janie's high school is large, Sarah the best friend, is the only friend from middle school she sees everyday. Janie spends her lunch period in the library. All of her old friends have lunch at a different time.

"Once in a while someone appears who gives you hope a cute boy reading the latest Sports Illustrated or a girl of the normal looking variety thumbing through the book on the This just in cart. Are they cafeteria refugees too? But they never show up two days in a row, and my hopes for finding friendship in the library are dashed yet again. That's my dream, of course. That some regular, everyday people will show up and recognize me as someone who is basically normal, in spite of my Farm Girl mishaps but whose soul is too sensitive to deal with the cafeteria alone."

With some work Janie goes from one friend to three. One is a boy named Monster who teaches her how to play bass. Bass playing Janie doesn't care what other people think of her.

This was a very easy story to fall into. I loved Janie's voice. She's simply trying to find where she fits in. Dowell excels at creating believable and realistic characters you want to cheer for. Ten Miles Past Normal is a very entertaining and fun read.

It's on the younger end of YA spectrum. Perfectly fine for fans of Dowell's middle grade novels. Also highly recommanded for fans of Joan Bauer. Ages 11up.

I Am J - Cris Beam

I AM J by Cris Beam

Jeni was assigned the wrong gender at birth. In the sixth grade, Jeni starts going by J . Now a senior in high school, J knows he's transgender and wants to begin the transition to his rightful gender. We first meet J going to a party so his best friend Melissa wouldn't have to go alone. Since the party wasn't J's scene, it's not a great place to meet him. I felt the author through J tried to squeeze in as many facts about J and Melissa's family and friendship as possible. It felt forced and unnecessary, since it was only the first chapter.

In his head J refers to his parents by their first names Carolina and Manny*. J relationship with his parents has been very shaky recently. When J realizes they think he's a lesbian, he's beyond frustrated at not being understood. When I got to this point in the story, I couldn't help but think at least J's parents are trying to accept what they believe to be his sexual preference. If I had understood J's a bit more I would've looked at this scene differently.

I thought the author did a good job of allowing the reader to see J for who he really was. A male born in a female body. Beam gets across J's frustrations at being misunderstood and called a lesbian. In the beginning J's a little homophobic. In the end I realized it would be difficult to defined as something your not daily, and then begin to dislike the incorrect label. I wish Beam would've had J explain his aversion to being labeled a lesbian. Since I don't know much about transgender I couldn't understand why being called a lesbian was the worst thing in the world. Though it does seem obivious now.

J starts doing some searches and learns about testosterone shots and binding. J really wants to begin T shots to start the transition. J begins skipping school and binding his chest. When J meets some girls around his age they only see him as J the boy. J loves his new persona. It was nice to see J come into his own but I have a difficult time believing, J never considered binding or testosterone before the internet search. I will admit I midway through I wasn't enjoying I AM J as much as I would've have liked. Then this paragraph that made me happy I kept on reading.

"No," J answered quietly. He focused inside. It felt as if part of the bone had broken free, its sharp edge scraping a piece of rib, then floating on, looking for a new place to root. Could it be that feelings actually did physical damage? Could he really have broken something? Did the pain stem from hearing his mother's words or his own. He remembered what his old swimming coach used to say when the team was aching and groaning but still had more laps to do: "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional." I won't suffer, J thought. This may hurt, but I won't suffer. The bone settled."

It was almost midway in and worth the wait. I really started to like J. Maybe I was looking at the story differently but it started to flow a bit better. J was starting to find his own way. He moved in with Melissa and her mother, and enrolled in a school for GLBTQ, teens. I love how J uses his photography to express himself. There's a great wow moment with J taking a photograph of himself, and it hits me how much he's gone through. I thought Beam's describe this scene beautifully.

I am happy I got a chance to read I AM J. And so glad I didn't put it down. There's a lot to take away from this story and J. Don't let my critics fool you, I AM J is a good and worth while read.

*J's mother is Puerto Rican and his father is Jewish. The name, Manny kept confusing me, since I think of it more as a Latino name than a Jewish one, even though its both. I couldn't help but wonder why the author didn't use a different name for J's father. I lot was made of J being a character of color. Puerto Rican cousins and summer trips to PR were mentioned, and a handful of Spanish words though J still didn't feel Latino to me. Though Beam still succeeded in creating a transgender character readers can learn from and a good story.

A Nation's Hope: The Story of boxing Legend Joe Louis

A Nation's Hope: the story of boxing legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Pena, illus by Kadir Nelson

Like everything else in 1930's boxing was segregated.

The world waits for Joe Louis to take the ring,
take center stage
White men wait standing beside Black men, but standing apart
Jim Crow America

In the 1938 rematch against German fighter Max Schmeling, Louis was looked upon as a nation's hope because of the impending war. This is the fight that de la Pena leads readers to, though first we are introduced to a young Joe Louis.

He didn't speak until he was six,
and when he finally spoke he stammered
and was ridiculed
Words spinning just beyond Joe's grasp,
and with black skin he passed through childhood in the shadows
Yet there was something about his hands, so big and powerful
Nights he'd stare down at those hands and dream

Nelson's image of a young Joe Louis to the right of Pena's text is strong, gorgeous and focused. Nelson easily captures the strength of Louis's hands. It's one of my favorite panels in the book. The same goes for Pena. Author and illustrator were very in sync.

Pena's text has a great rhythm to it, very fitting for a biography on a boxer. Nelson's illustrations are lovely as always. I do wish the author would've included some back information. There isn't even a timeline or author's note.

Though A Nation's Hope is a still nice introduction to Joe Louis, the second Black heavyweight champion. After reading this I wanted to learn more about Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling and that lead me to this, was quickly sucked in and watched all nine parts.

I have Pena and Nelson to thank for my desire to want to know more about Louis. I believe readers of all ages will be moved to do the same.

Sunday - A Little of Everything

I got a very nice unexpected gift . Edi sent me an authographed copy of

A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Pena, illus. by Kadir Nelson. Edi shares some pictures from a recent conference, where she meet a few authors including Matt de la Pena.

On Monday, my Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month post went up. If you haven't already check it out, Women of Color Make Their Presence Known It turned out really well. I loved my beginning.

Much of the credit goes to organizers Margo Tanenbaum and Lisa Taylor. I am very happy they didn't listen to my suggestion about which covers to show. What they did is so much better. I never would've thought to include the video interview with Paula Yoo. The link to the video, yes. That one extra step could mean the difference of someone buying Shining Star.

Author Esther Friesner's Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month post - Haunted by History Friesner has an historical fiction novel coming out called Threads and Flames about the 1910 Triangle Fire, which killed over 140 workers thanks to unsafe working conditions. Friday, March 25 was the anniversary of the fire. On Friday morning I read Friesner's Haunted by History

In the evening I read author Zetta Elliott's post about the Triangle Fire Elliott links to the PBS film and I will do the same here . After reading two separate post about the Triangle Fire, I didn't hesitate to watch the film.

The Time Traveling Fashionista - Bianca Turetsky

The Time Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky

12 yr old Louise Lambert loves vintage fashion. She buys all of her clothes at thift shops. When Louise recieves a mysterious invitation to a traveling vintage fashion sale, she goes in search of the perfect dress for a dance.

The traveling sale is run by two very strange woman. Louise finally finds the perfect dress, trying it on takes her back to 1912. Louise wakes up on a cruise ship, everyone is calling her Miss Baxter. Lousie has no idea wants going on but decides to enjoy her time on the ship that seems to have everything, even an elevator. When Louise finally realizes she's on the titantic, it's time to go. She must figure out a way and fast. The Time Traveling Fashionista was so much fun. I love when an author allows the reader to feel their main characters passion for whatever it is they like. Turetsky, did just that with Louise and fashion.

"When Louise wasn't scouring the two local thrift stores, she was online researching different designers and eras. A well worn copy of Shopping for Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Fashion, a surprisingly perfect birthday gift from Grandpa Leo, was conveniently placed on her bedside table, so that if she dreamed of a particular outfit, which she often did, she could look it up before it disappeared from her mind's eye. The book also gave her lots of tips for collecting vintage and a directory of all the best vintage stores throughout the world. She would read through the shop listings on nights when she couldn't fall asleep. It was much more effective than counting sheep."

It wasn't the great fashion description that pulled me in, it was Louise. She's a very likable character. The author takes the time to development Louise's storyline before she's transported back in time.

When I first heard about The Time Traveling Fashionista, my first thought was, how smart could this girl be if she didn't know she was on the titantic. I had some serious doubts if this could be pulled off. Once Louise travels back, I am quickly proven wrong. The cruise is only refered to as The White Star Line. It's only after Louise finally catches a glimpse of the word titanic on an invitation that she knows what's about to happen. Before that Louise was having a great time as Alice Baxter, a teenage silent movie star. She flirts with a young Guggenhiem and meets a few fashion icons like Lucy Duff-Gordon.

The author surrounds Louise with great characters in the present and the past. In the present Louise's has her best friend Brooke. In the past she befriends Alice Baxter's maid Anna. There are some great fashion skectches included. I am reviewing the unfinished copy so the color is still to come. Though there is still much presence with the black and white drawings. It's a very nice extra for a wonderful story. Ages 10 up.