Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume ★★★☆☆

A classic kid’s book.

Fiction – Juvenile

Age Range: 7 and up

144 pages

Publication Date: 1972

Fudge #1

Literary awards: West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Younger Readers (1980), Grand Canyon Reader Award (1977), Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1977), Sequoyah Book Award (1975), Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (1975) Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1974)

Peter, as the oldest, must constantly deal with his little brother, Fudge’s antics.  Fudge won’t leave Dribble the turtle alone, is always getting into Peter’s room, wrecks school projects and finally does the unthinkable.  In the end Peter can’t decide whether he loves Fudge or hates him, though the scales seem to tip in favor of hate.

Fun, easy to read with a nice flow, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, is the story of the day-to-day trials and tribulation of nine-year-old Peter Hatcher.  From Shelia the cootie girl, babysitting mishaps and figuring out where he fits, with a spoiled little brother on a terror always overshadowing him, Peter navigates through the pitfalls of his life. 

Peter as the narrator gives the story a rather straightforward perspective and while in most cases he has a fairly astute assessment of the world his viewpoint is only really skewed in regard to parent’s love for him and his brother Fudge.   As a reader you can really feel for Peter.  His mother is overwhelmed and his father is rather unconnected to the day-to-day life of the family, while his brother is a bit out of control.  Peter’s parents are trying very hard to meet both of the boy’s needs, but Fudge-as a strong-willed toddler- does kind of suck up most of their time and energy, while Peter spends a good deal of time being used to manage his brother; unfortunately, a rather normal dynamic for some families. 

In its most basic form this entertaining little story is about the normal chaos and havoc of family life. 

ISBN  0142401013 (ISBN13: 9780142401019)

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer ★★★☆☆

Emotionally raw and articulate

Non Fiction - Memoir

333 pages

First published 1997

Literary awards: ALA Alex Award (1998), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (1998)

John Krakuer, a journalist sent to be a member of Rob Hall’s expedition to summit Mt. Everest, writes an emotional and reasonably accurate recount of the 1996 Everest disaster. Krakuer, lays out the series of events that ended in catastrophe, while trying to work out for himself what went wrong and what part he may have had in it.

Left in devastating position with no good choices on Everest and then dealing with survivor’s guilt afterward, Krakuer, really strives to be honest, but fair as he examines the different aspects of this catastrophic event.  This story played itself out on a world stage and has so many players involved and other factors influencing it, so to hear Krakuer views is fascinating.  He takes a rather brave and unabashed look at a tragedy he personally experienced and what he perceives as his own failings during the incident.  Well researched, nicely paced, and emotionally raw, Krakuer effectively articulates his thoughts and feelings connected to this horrific event and the fallout from it.  The story is well written and has fantastically vivid word pictures, though, I have to say that on occasion I did feel like the prose was a little choked by the amount of detail.

This rather graphic and Interesting introduction into a world I know very little about (you know, as a fan of staying alive and sufferer of from fear of hitting the ground with great force– though my husband’s claims that you are more likely to roll down the decline and die that way, thanks sweetie for that bit of lovely information– I personally have had little interest in mountaineering) has been pretty amazing and hasn’t changed my mind that I still don’t want to try it.  Frankly I am just awestruck by the amount a punishment a person is willing to purposely put themselves through and I can’t decide whether these mountaineers are crazy or just determined or both.

ISBN  0385494785 (ISBN13: 9780385494786)

Into Thin Air postponed

Dear Readers,

Due to circumstances out of my control I will have to postpone my review of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer until next week.  I am so, so sorry , but life just got in the way.  However, next week everything should be back to normal and on schedule.

Thank you for your understanding,

Whymsy

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody ★★★☆☆

Has more heart than I expected.

Fiction – YA – Chick Lit

Age Level: 12  and up Grade: 7 and up

340 pages

Publication Date: July 3rd 2012

When Lexington Larrabee drunkenly crashes her new car into a convenience store days before her 18 birthday she expects it to be swept under the rug by her business mogul father’s team with the usual ease.  Sure being the daughter of an ever absent billionaire has its downside, like him missing her high school graduation, but these kinds of things are the perks of being a heiress right?  Everything seems par for the course until Lexi shows up at the lawyers office to receive her ticket to freedom, a trust fund worth twenty-five-million-dollars.  Her father has added a few new stipulations.  Lexi, will be expected to work a new job every week for the next year, 52 to be exact.  With a college intern to babysit her, Lexi, will have to learn what it means to work for the first time in her life or give up everything.

Jessica Brody has very expression writing style with excellent imagery and wonderful flow.  This storyline idea while not exactly the most original was well executed, with elements of fun and heart.  I liked how Brody introduced us to Lexi and set about illuminating her inner and outer struggles.  Lexi is a real piece of work; intelligent, childish, spoiled but neglected and damaged.  One great example of Brody’s talent is in the way she manages to keep Lexi from becoming completely repulsive and then her excellent job of transforming Lexi in a believable way.

ISBN 0374323038 (ISBN13: 9780374323035)