The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

Toten, Teresa. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B. New York: Delacorte Press, 2013.

Heroes can be found in the most unlikely places.  Adam Ross is one such hero. He doesn’t always feel like one.  He must constantly battle is obsessive compulsive disorder - the reason that he finds himself in group in room 13B in the first place. Some amazing things happen in this group.  Adam falls in love.  The perfect girl strolls right into that room and rocks his whole world.  He makes it a mission to get better for her and that commitment sustains him, right to the point where he does the heroic thing and (spoiler alert) gives her up.  His fellow members take on superhero identities and become superheroes to each other - walking up flights and flights of stairs because one of them fears the elevator; visiting a church together and finding their own individual kinds of comfort there ( priceless, those scenes at Adam’s church!). As Adam grows (both literally and figuratively) through group, his private life takes a somewhat dismal turn.  His mom hoards; his step brother struggles with his own compulsions; his own symptoms seem to worsen. His journey is difficult to watch, but ultimately uplifting.

This book is not a brand new one, and I can’t honestly remember what led me to add it to a recent book order.  I am, however, so glad that I did.  On the heels of Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman and Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips, I am pleased to find another fresh, honest look at the impact of a kind of mental illness on a young adult.   I am already dreaming up a book talk slide where I can highlight these amazing works. I am also always grateful to find male protagonists that are believable and appropriate and engaging. Adam is so hard on himself and lives in a bit of denial, but he is so compassionate to the people around him.  He works so hard to do better.  His flaws and failures just make him real and more relatable to my readers.

I was not familiar with Teresa Toten at all, so I headed on over to her website to see what other books she has out there - quite a few for me to explore.  The site also includes a lovely biography that details her childhood wish to be a mermaid, and the rather twisty turny path that led her to be a writer.  I love a good author website.  While there,  I discovered a teachers’ guide to this title.  I will be mentioning this book to the psychology teacher here who expressed an interest in other fiction titles exploring mental issues.  It will be nice to have the guide to share!

Circling the Sun - Paula McLain

McLain, Paula. Circling the Sun.  New York: Ballantine, 2015.

I snuck in a bit of summer just a tad early this year and read an adult book. When I saw this, I couldn't resist. 

So this is definitely not a long narrative poem, but I sort of just kept thinking epic as I made my way through this factionalized account of Beryl Markham's life. Set primarily in Africa  and for a bit in London, we are introduced to Africa which very nearly functions as a character of its own when Beryl is just a tot. Her first of what seems like many profound losses occurs at age 4 with the leaving of her mother who returns to England with her brother letting her behind her to be raised on her father's horse farm. She grows up free, a tomboy, who inherits her fathers ease with training horses and channels her loss into great independence and strength. After choosing the wrong man to marry at age 19 when her father is leaving her and her precious farm, Beryl forges ahead to become the first certified trainer in Africa. Unhappy in her marriage she pushes hard for independence,, which she learns is not exactly the same as freedom, in the simultaneously liberal and unforgiving African culture of the 1920s.  These early trials and triumphs shape her into the largely controversial woman she would become. The woman who ultimately becomes one of the first women pilots and makes a record breaking flight across the Atlantic.  

I didn't always love or admire Beryl. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I love that McLain portrayed her n such a painfully honest way that allowed us to see her faults and all. her losses make her tough;  perhaps I am uncomfortable with her because I am not that tough.  Yet I can admire her just the same. I wish I had more courage to go for my dreams. She makes decisions that are hurtful to others as well as herself. We all do, and she is making big decisions all on her own at a time when most young adults are still under the care of parents. And how she does learn. She accepts the consequences for all of her actions in a refreshing way. She grows  and moves on in ways that many couldn't. And that I admire. 

I also come to admire her Africa of the 1920s as well. Oddly, as I did some reading about Markham's and her friends in Africa the most often drawn comparisons was to Out of Africa . I didn't love that movie and haven't tried the books, so I am happy to be drawn to the setting so much through McLain's descriptions. I have already added Markham's memoir and Out of Africa to my wish list.  And I love reading more about the 1920s. This title certainly rounds out my impressions based primarily on The Great Gatsby and The Paris wife.

A solid read - adventure, romance, history. Well developed characters and a powerful and lovely setting. Motifs of love and loss. I picked this up because I so enjoyed The Paris Wife and I'm glad I did. Thanks to Net Galley for providing this novel in exchange for an honest review. 

The Cure For Dreaming - Cat Winters

Winters, Cat. The Cure For Dreaming.

Cat Winters does it again! This novel, a lovely blend of historical and supernatural, will be a great one to recommend to my readers. Olivia Mead is a character to admire. In an era when women are expected to remain silent, maintain the house, and find a good man to take care of them, Olivia wants more. Her father is appalled at her suffragist tendencies and hires a young hypnotist to "cure" her. Oddly enough, under Henri Reverie's influence she finds herself getting into more trouble than ever. She sees people as they truly are and not as they present themselves to the world, her father a terrifying devil, her escort Percy and his society friends vampires, the women in her world fading ghosts. These visions instead of silencing her cause her to want to be heard even more. She writes a letter in support of the vote for women for a local newspaper; she Rebels against her faster by sneaking out, missing school, and developing a relationship with Henri. A fascinating story unfolds.

I love the nods to history here. The text is interspersed with period pictures and quotes from well known suffragists. The characters refer to Susan B. Anthony and her contemporaries, and readers will walk through history and barely know it because they are so involved with the narrative. Olivia Mead is a believable character who struggles with her own self worth, misses her mom who left her, longs for a first love - all relatable coming of age issues for my readers. She is also strong, opinionated, and brave, standing up for herself and the women around her when it would be much easier to just give into the society around her. I had moments of unease when I was reading because I didn't love that she was fighting for her rights but so very susceptible to Henry's hypnosis. I worried that a mixed message was being created, even if my girls wouldn't necessarily get it. Winters handles that so adroitly it is as if she were reading my mind. Olivia's independence wins the day!

Certainly I can sell this as historical fiction to help out my juniors with their history independent reading requirement. It reminded me in many ways of Donnelly's   A Northern Light. A lovely pairing for a future book talk.I can capture the interest of my supernatural fans as well. I look forward to the conversations we will have about this book. I am so grateful that I met Cat Winters through the ALA Youth Media Awards. She is quickly becoming a favorite in that she offers my readers so much to think about wrapped up in fascinating narrative. I surely look forward to whatever she does next!  

The Carnival at Bray - Jessie Ann Foley

Foley, Jessie Ann. The Car niv al at Bray. Ashford, Connecticut: Elephant Rock Books, 2014.

Forget that this novel was a Printz Award finalist, a Gilbert Morris finalist, a YALSA best book for young adults. Ireland is the primary setting and at so many level it wins my heart by default on that alone. Reasonably, however, I can't expect to sell this to an overwhelming number of readers just because I love the work of Maeve Binchy and Seamus Heaney. So I guess much remains to consider about why this award winning book should be read.

I love 16 year old Maggie Lynch. She has not at any level been dealt a fair hand in her young life. Her dad is not around; her mom bounces from loser to loser looking for love; she often feels alone on the world. She has her Nanny Ei and her Uncle Kevin (thank goodness), but she is forced to leave them behind when her mom's latest relationship results in marriage and a rather abrupt move to Ireland. Maggie Lynch, though...she is young, but she is tough. She stands up for herself most of the time, even if it means being lonely, and when her mistakes take her where she's hurt beyond measure (a loser named Paul, ugh!), she picks herself up and finds a place off strength beyond her years. When the worst happens, the death of her beloved uncle Kevin, she takes his advice to live. With her new friend Eoin, and Nirvana tickets from Uncle Kevin she sets off on an adventure to Rome to see the band live. Certainly she grows up in a number of ways, figures out some things that matter to her, and lives the dream with which her uncle challenged her.

So the mom in me is scared to death of her fearlessness and grateful to have kids beyond 16 who are no longer my direct responsibility. But such fearlessness is exactly what we want for our girls. The teacher librarian in me would love to believe that our kids aren't forced to grow up in the way Maggie is. They don't have parents who drink and largely neglect them. Their role models are not addicted to drugs.They aren't subject to the cruelty of untutored teenage boys. They are able to avoid tragic loss. But reality check. Life is often confusing and messy and uglier than I'd like for my kids. What leaves me just a bit uncomfortable as a read it is their day to day reality. And Foley gives them unvarnished and gritty reality. But with that she gives them a character who also gets beauty. A Nanny who loves her unconditionally, a realization that she loves her mom and is grateful for her in spite of the fact the she drives her crazy. She finds love with a boy who treasures her and gives her second chances. I love that my girls will see her strength and yes, her fearlessness.

I am not a huge grunge fan, but I appreciate the strong presence of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain in this book. It reminds me a bit of Woodson's After Tupac and D Foster in the sense that it looks at how music can define a generation. I love the 1993 of it all, particularly seeing relationships develop without constant texting and social media. Nifty. I don't even think my kids will miss it especially in light of the lovely hand written note in the end. Maybe they'll be challenged to communicate I new (old) ways. 

I find much more I want to say about Don Sean and Sister Geneve about Ireland and pilgrimages, but I will just have to work on getting readers to the book. Definitely this is for mature readers. I can sell it to my John Green and Gayle Forman fans with ease.  I'm closing with a couple of links that I read. I love getting my kids to the author. I love authors who are honest and transparent, so the my readers can see intention.

An interview with the author here... And her blog here.