Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah

Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah (Rated: S)
Modern History Press
ISBN: 978-1-932690-72-9
Published January 2009
Hardcover, 248 pages

I was immediately drawn to the beautiful cover of this book. It depicts a veiled Middle Eastern woman with sad eyes shielding her face with her bejewelled arms. How appropriate for this novel about a Pakistani-Muslim woman who loses her husband to the tragic collapse of the World Trade Center.

I love novels that are of the multi-cultural genre. And this book is filled with the flavours and traditions of the Middle East. Abdullah’s writing is lyrical and poetic, with a sad tone that permeates this story told from the first person point of view of the main character Arissa Illahi. With flashbacks, we come to learn of her childhood and marriage to Faizan, the husband she knew for barely two years. She is pregnant when he dies and her pain is compounded with the knowledge that her unborn baby will have multiple birth defects.

The whole story is Arissa’s struggle with losses—her mother’s lack of love throughout her childhood, her husband’s death and his unfinished novel, her child’s disabilities, the age-old traditions of her former country, and her lost dreams. Through her eyes we see what she endures as a Muslim woman in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks—the prejudices, the hatred, the misunderstandings, and her guilt for not wanting to return to Pakistan when Faizan wished it.

Throughout, she voices her frustration and philosophy about death and God. It was clear to me that although she believed in God, she lacked faith in Him and struggled with this, too. Arissa also makes it her project to finish Faizan’s novel, no easy task, even though she is an artist and a writer herself. She keeps her husband alive in her heart and fulfills his dream, making it a lasting legacy.

Although this novel received great reviews, I had mixed feelings about it. Overall, it gave me a glimpse into the life of an immigrant Muslim widow in America, mourning her many losses and the decisions she made to cope with them. Sometimes, I had to put the book down and read something else because the sombreness of it was all encompassing. Besides her painful losses, it saddened me that her Muslim faith did not provide comfort or answers regarding death and tragedies. This book also contained mildly explicit sexual scenes and also unmarried sex, which I did not expect from a Muslim author.

Disclosure: Thanks to Victor R. Volkman from ReviewTheBook.com for sending this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

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The 39 Clues Book One: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

 

The 39 Clues Book One: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
(Rated: C)
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 978-0-545-06039-4
Published Sept 9, 2008
Hardcover, 220 pages

What a fun book this is! Part action-adventure and mystery-game, this first book in The 39 Clues series sets the stage for what I thought was a kid’s version of an Indiana Jones-type race.

When 11 year-old Dan and 14 year-old Amy Cahill attend their grandmother’s funeral and subsequent reading of her will, they are given the choice of inheriting one million dollars each or taking the first of 39 Clues in a quest leading to a secret that will make them the most powerful and influential human beings on the planet. However, other select relatives are also given the first Clue, and with only one winner of the treasure, a deadly competition begins.

I loved the main characters! Amy, an avid bibliophile, gets shy around crowds and prefers being alone, while Dan is exceptional in solving math problems and loves to collect things. They have a typical brother and sister relationship but they are close and look out for each other because they are orphans. The reader easily cheers for them and follows them on their adventures where we get to see them use their skills and overcome their fears as they evade the other relatives who are all fighting to find the second clue and will stop at nothing to get it. The book ends on a suspenseful note when they find the second Clue, and we are left with questions as to who really are the good and bad guys.

This book is a fast read with some comical scenes (I could see it made into a Walt Disney movie one day). Readers will also discover interesting historical tidbits along the way. What’s more, readers can also play the game and win prizes online, since the book comes with 6 cards with codes to enter on the official Web site http://www.the39clues.com/. So the reader can enter the race, explore the Cahill world and track down clues. I actually went on the site and created an account to see what it was all about.

Rick Riordan and Scholastic have created an interesting reading and playing experience with this book series. I can’t wait to read the next one.

Disclosure: Thank you to Nikole from Scholastic Canada for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

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The Lonely Digger, written and illustrated by Margaret Merry

The Lonely Digger, written and illustrated by Margaret Merry
(Rated: C)
Strategic Book Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60860-144-8
Published April 2009
Paperback, 68 pages

This is the charming story of a digger named Lola that is abandoned in a quarry because it is no longer functional to its owner and now considered a “useless heap of rusty metal”. However, as the seasons change, Lola becomes a resting and hiding place to several different animals at different times. But none of them stay for too long, and Lola continues to be lonely and to long for a friend, until she meets the boy who will change everything.

Through Lola, author Margaret Merry has brought to life a character that ultimately is rewarded for her kindness and her help to others in times of need. This is a meaningful message for children. As is her trademark, the author introduces a cast of interesting animals and their young with beautiful watercolour illustrations. My children aged eight and five enjoyed the premise of this lovely story. I had to read it in two sittings, though, because it was too long (68 pages) to read in one sitting.

If you know of a boy or girl who loves diggers and animals, this book is sure to please.

Disclosure: Thanks to Strategic Book Group for sending this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

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Mailbox Monday (8)

I noticed that the excitement of receiving books in the mail doesn't abate even after it happens week after week. Well, what did I receive in my mailbox last week? One book. By the way, this meme is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. You should check out her blog and see what others have received and to play along.

I am really excited about this book that I won from Reading at the Beach and Hatchett Group because it was supposed to be an audio book but I got the actual print book instead. Yay! Not that I don't like audio books, but I am certainly not disappointed that it came as a book format instead. And I peeked into it and was immediately drawn to read the prologue. I can't wait to read it!

Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds by Sanjay Gupta, MD

Synopsis from Amazon:
An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect . . . a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake . . . a comatose brain surgery patient whom doctors have declared a "vegetable."

Twenty years ago all of them would have been given up for dead, with no realistic hope for survival. But today, thanks to incredible new medical advances, each of these individuals is alive and well . . . Cheating Death.

In this riveting book, Dr. Sanjay Gupta-neurosurgeon, chief medical correspondent for CNN, and bestselling author-chronicles the almost unbelievable science that has made these seemingly miraculous recoveries possible. A bold new breed of doctors has achieved amazing rescues by refusing to accept that any life is irretrievably lost. Extended cardiac arrest, "brain death," not breathing for over an hour-all these conditions used to be considered inevitably fatal, but they no longer are. Today, revolutionary advances are blurring the traditional line between life and death in fascinating ways.

Drawing on real-life stories and using his unprecedented access to the latest medical research, Dr. Gupta dramatically presents exciting accounts of how pioneering physicians and researchers are altering our understanding of how the human body functions when it comes to survival-and why more and more patients who once would have died are now alive. From experiments with therapeutic hypothermia to save comatose stroke or heart attack victims to lifesaving operations in utero to the study of animal hibernation to help wounded soldiers on far-off battlefields, these remarkable case histories transform and enrich all our assumptions about the true nature of death and life.

So what did you get in your mailbox last week?

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Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (Rated: S mild)
Dell Publishing
ISBN: 0-440-98469-6
Published 1981 originally
Paperback, 225 pages

This is one of Judy Blume’s books that I remember the most from my teen years. It’s the story of 15 year-old Davey whose father gets shot to death in a hold-up at his 7-Eleven Store. Written in the first person through Davey’s point of view, the story unfolds quickly placing us into the turmoil of her life as she tries to put the pieces of her world back together.

She and her family (mom and younger brother) move temporarily to stay with relatives in New Mexico, which is very different from her Atlantic City by the ocean. Soon after she moves there she discovers a private place in the depths of the Los Alamos Canyon. That’s where she meets mysterious Wolf whose quiet and understanding friendship helps her to face her tragedy even as he must face his.

This novel deals with grief and a family’s struggle to adjust to the loss of one of its members. It is emotionally engaging, absorbing, and sprinkled with small scenes of humour. Picking up this book now as a parent makes me see things with different eyes. There are a few scenes dealing with alcohol and sexuality. Although Davey is a good kid and does not get involved with drugs or alcohol, there is no moral guidance in her life. At fifteen she was dating and would have engaged in sex were it not for an incident that occurred, stopping the couple from going any further.

Overall, this was an interesting book for me to re-read, but as a Christian I was uncomfortable with a main character who would easily engage in sexual activity with a boy she didn’t even love. Not the kind of morals I would want to instil in my children.

Disclosure: I bought this book at a used book sale. It was not sent to me for review.

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Books Read in 2009

Here is a list of books I read in 2009. Most are reviewed but some are not. Click on the link to read the review.

1. Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
2. Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children by Jill Osborne (Children)
3. Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers by Irene Watson, Tyler R. Tichelaar, and Victor R. Volkman
4. The Pirate and the Puritan by Mary Clayton
5. Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena
6. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
7. The Last Whale by Chris Pash
8. Red Hot Internet Publicity: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Your Book on the Internet by Penny C. Sansevieri
9. Billy Had to Move: A Foster Care Story by Theresa Ann Fraser (Children)
10. Calling All Authors: How to Publish with Your Eyes Wide Open by Valerie Connelly
11. The Stranger She Married by Donna Hatch
12. The Green Bronze Mirror by Lynne Ellison (YA)
13. The Mercenary's Marriage Rachel Rossano
14. The Crown of Anavrea by Rachel Rossano
15. The World's Easiest Astronomy Book by Hitoshi Nakagawa
16. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
17. Saving Madeline by Rachel Ann Nunes
18. Golden's Rule by C.E. Edmonson (YA)
19. Worlds Unseen by Rachel Starr Thomson
20. Rankin Inlet by Mara Feeney
21. The Heart Specialist by Claire Holden Rothman
22. Raindrops, Glimpses, Moments: An Unconventional Memoir of an Unplanned Journey by Len Richman
23. The Adventures of Princess the Pony by Margaret Merry (Children)
24. 24 Hours London by Marsha Moore
25. Perfect Snow by Barbara Reid (Children)
26. You're Mean, Lily Jean by Frieda Wishinsky (Children)
27. My Story: Bloody Tower by Valerie Wilding (YA)
28. Crow Call by Lois Lowry (Children)
29. At The Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times by Larry Verstraete (YA)
30. Ferninand Uses the Potty by Jay Tucker (Children)
31. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Children)
32. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
33. Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer
34. On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt
35. Nine Lives by Russel Whitehouse
36. Swahili for Beginners by Lisa Joyal (YA)
37. The Author's Guide to Planning Book Events by Carol Hoenig
38. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
39. Journey to Yesterday by June Lund Shiplett
40. The Endearment by LaVyrle Spencer
41. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
42. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (YA)
43. The Rocket by Mike Leonetti (Children) upcoming review
44. Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah upcoming review
45. The 39 Clues - Book One: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (YA)
46. The Lonely Digger by Margaret Merry (Children)
47. The Wise Old Boar by Margaret Merry (Childen) upcoming review
48. The Islander by Cynthia Rylant (YA)

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Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(Rated: C)
HarperFestival
ISBN: 978-0-06-000046-2
2003 Edition
Softcover, 352 pages

The last time I read this book I was a pre-teen. I remember loving the Little House series as well as the television adaptation, which I saw only in French. My family didn’t have cable when I was a kid, and we caught only four channels in Montreal, two of which were in English but didn’t air the series. I have such fond memories of these stories!

This book was the first I decided to read for the Shelf Discovery Challenge. It is the second book in the Laura Years series. Every night, I read one or two chapters to my 8 year-old daughter. Told in the third person, Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of when Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house and the family sets out in a canvas-covered wagon for Indian country in Kansas. Through her story, I rediscovered the simple, united, yet difficult life of the pioneer settlers.

My daughter and I loved reading about how Laura’s family started out from scratch their life in the Prairies. She describes in minute details how her father built a log house with a locking door latch, a hearth, a stable, beds and mattresses, and a rocking chair. It was captivating for my little modern girl and fascinating for me, a city born-and-bred mom. We also learned a lot of new words as Laura’s descriptions of nature and pioneer life is extensive.

This is such a delightful book, wholesome and reminiscent of days when children were superbly obedient, life was simple, and survival dependant on knowledge of nature, quick wits, and life-building skills. I now look forward to sharing more of the Little House series with my daughter.

Disclosure: I bought this book at a used book sale. It was not sent to me for review.

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