The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau, 2004

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"it is green here and very big. Light comes from the sky...."
When Lina and Doon lead their people up from the underground city of Ember, they discover a surface world of color and life. The people of a small village called Sparks agree to help the Emberites, but the villagers have never had to share their world before. Soon differences between the two groups escalate, and it's up to Lina and Doon to find a way to avoid war!
In the riveting sequel to the highly acclaimed The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau explores the nature of conflict and the strength and courage necessary to overcome it. 
(338 pages)

This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling dystopian The City of Ember, which I reviewed here. There are some inevitable spoilers from the first book, so read ahead at your own risk!

Where Ember was a story of setting and plot, this was a story of characters and relationships. The people of Sparks are reluctant to care for four hundred extra people out of their own reserves, and the people of Ember quickly become embittered about the "stinginess" of their unwilling hosts. The book is one long look at conflict: the small things that can spark big wars, and the devastating effects of human anger.

A few times in the book characters talk about the idea that the only way to stop bad events from escalating, is to return good for bad and convince your opponent to stop the cycle of retaliation. This was the idea that stuck with me most strongly when I first read the book many years ago, and it's the idea that once again hits me with the most force. It's a very important message, and one that everyone could take a moment to consider.

Lina and Doon play prominent roles in this book, which makes me happy because I love them. What I particularly love about them is that they don't let their relationship drama consume the story: in fact, I wouldn't even call it "drama." They go through a small rough patch in their friendship, but it doesn't consume the story. They've each got much bigger issues to deal with as Doon struggles to decide what to do/where his loyalties lie during the revolution, and Lina worries about her sick sister and finding a place to live away from Sparks. They spend most of the book apart from each other, both physically and emotionally, but there's none of that "oh no, we'll never be friends again" garbage that authors often throw in to add some tension.

On another note, it's fascinating to see the world a couple centuries after the cataclysmic events ended. People survive by scavenging goods from old deserted cities, the science of electricity long forgotten. It's like a primitive time period from our own past in many respects (the water pumps, the farming for survival, etc.), but it's also futuristic in the most fascinating and kind of depressing way. Roamers, who pick through ruins to find goods to trade for, drive trucks - that's right, trucks - pulled by horses or mules. One woman buys (via trading) an old sink top with hot and cold faucets, because she likes the looks of it and wants to use it as a candleholder. 

It's hard to put this book into words, but it really is a gripping, fascinating, throught-provoking read about the future, the past, the nature of conflict, and the road to peace. If this sounds interesting to you, read The People of Sparks - I promise you won't be disappointed!

Note: click here to read my review of the third book in the series, The Prophet of Yonwood.

You Have a Brain: A Teen's Guide to T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. by Ben Carson, 2015

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Throughout his life, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson has needed to overcome many obstacles: His father leaving the family; being considered stupid by his classmates in grade school; growing up in inner-city Detroit; and having a violent temper. But Dr. Carson didn't let his circumstances control him, and instead discovered eight principles that helped shape his future.

In You Have a Brain: A Teen's Guide to Think Big, Dr. Carson unpacks the eight important parts of Thinking Big--Talent, Honesty, Insight, being Nice, Knowledge, Books, In-Depth learning, and God--and presents the stories of people who demonstrated those things in his life. By applying the idea of T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. to your life, and by looking at those around you as well, you too can overcome obstacles and work toward achieving your dreams.
(240 pages)

It's misleading of the cover and synopsis to suggest that the mnemonic is the focus of the entire book. Carson doesn't even mention it until over halfway through! He spends the first half of the book explaining his own humble beginnings and tracing his path to success. Then he turns around and tells the reader how "you too can become a famous neurosurgeon by following this one simple trick!"

Haha, no, that's not what he says. Really, I think he just wanted a nice kind of gimmicky mnemonic to help people remember his advice. And let me just say, it's definitely solid. He traces his early life and career in what is, for those of us who have read any of his other books, partly a review. To be fair he did mention things I hadn't read in the other books, focusing more on his study habits than on his relationship with God this time around, but there was still quite a bit of overlap. I suppose for some this might be kind of annoying, but for me it was nice to get a refresher and see exactly what he did in his own life to become successful. I wasn't sure if he was going to be one of those people who becomes successful one way, then turns around and advises something completely different for those who want to get ahead in life. By showing his own life, and what worked and didn't for him, he proved to me (and to anyone else who reads his book) that he's not just making this stuff up - the ideas presented in T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. really were the ones that helped him climb to the top.

As a teen, I found a lot of practical advice that I am definitely going to work on implementing in my own life. By putting the practical advice in the last few chapters, he makes it very easy to go back and reread concise instructions for applying each step in T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. I'm in the middle of a book about study techniques entitled Make it Stick (link goes to Goodreads) that I have to say is probably the most rambling. boring nonfiction I've ever read. I'd have quit it long ago if it weren't for the fact I'm required to finish it for English. After reading the mess of advice, examples, and anecdotes running rampant in Make it Stick, I really appreciated the way that Carson separates his anecdotes from his advice in a way that actually makes his anecdotes interesting but separate from his advice.

Do you need to read this if you're an adult who has read his other books? Probably not, unless you've got a burning desire to read everything the man writes. Should you read it if you're a student or the parent of a student trying to prepare for academic success? Most definitely. While Carson's approach may not work for all of us (I think it's pretty obvious he's got a natural advantage in the brain department - pun intended!), there's still a lot of good info in there about study habits, choosing a career, and remembering to focus on God before all else.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review

A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi Winget, 2014

A moving middle-grade story about love, loss, and the unlikely places we find home.
Poppy's life has been turned upside down after her grandma (and guardian) had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. But Poppy is working on a plan to help Grandma Beth so their life together can go back to normal. But when she witnesses an armed robbery, "back to normal" slips even further out of her reach. To keep Poppy safe, the budget-strapped police devise an unusual "witness protection program," wherein Poppy will stay with Detective Brannigan's mother. Soon Poppy is feeling almost at home, even making sort-of friends with a girl named Lizzie and definitely friending Gunner, a beautiful dog with an uncertain fate. But it's still not home. So while she and Lizzie navigate a rocky friendship and plot to save Gunner's life, Poppy also tries to figure out a new plan to save Grandma Beth and their home, all while avoiding a dangerous robber who might be searching for her. But what if Grandma Beth can never come home and the robber is put behind bars? What will happen to Poppy then?
(272 pages)

What a good book! I went into it expecting a book with nothing special to offer, that thought it was offering the world. Instead I found a sweet, poignant tale of family, loss, and love (familial love, not romantic love - I was worried about that when I read the synopsis!), and all the different types of "home." I enjoyed myself greatly while reading the entire book, and then after finishing it read back through to watch the development of a certain relationship throughout the book. Which one, you ask? It doesn't really matter; they're all great. The particular one I wanted to retrace was between Poppy and Trey, but it could have just as easily been between Poppy and pretty much any other main character, or even just between two other main characters with no Poppy involved.

You  see, this is a book about relationships. Not even just Poppy's relationships, though those often take center stage, but all sorts relationships. The relationships between Poppy and Lizzie, Lizzie and her unseen dad (Lizzie's parents recently got divorced), Trey and Poppy, Poppy and Grandma Beth - honestly, it goes on and on. And it's beautiful.

Now, Poppy was a great if sometimes infuriating character. She wandered away way too often for someone under a modified version of witness protection. To be fair, though, she had a ton on her plate so I think she just kind of didn't have room in her head to worry about the robber coming after her. When your grandmother/legal guardian is in the hospital because she keeps having strokes and you're only out of the Children's Center because you are a witness from a murder case . . . well, either you're going to crack with stress or you're going to kind of ignore one of the stressing factors. So while I don't love her to pieces, I do love her just a little bit. Because she went through so much, and was so brave, and - well, I don't know. I guess that kind of sums it up.

The story is both sad and sweet, and its tale of loss is offset by a thread of love and friendships. It's the kind of book that makes you give a happy sigh as you put it down, and makes you reread it every few years if you spot it on a library shelf. I don't know if I'd want to own it, because it's not quite that good, but I'll definitely reread it down the road.

Top Ten Fiction Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read

So who's ready for a new meme? I know I am! I've been contemplating adding Top Ten Tuesdays to the blog for a while, and figured I'd give it a try. Let me know what you think, and if I should stick with it.

Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which they provide a prompt every Tuesday, and you make a Top Ten list about that topic. You get pretty much complete creative liberty to do whatever you want within the prompt, and don't even have to make a list of ten if your list is really more of a Top Fifteen or a Top Five.

So this week's topic is "Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't/Want To Read From X Genre." I wanted to do either historical or science fiction, but I had so much fun browsing through my Goodreads shelves I knew I couldn't just limit it to a single type of fiction! So I'm making a Top Ten list of fictional  books I haven't read, but want to.

1. The Secret Under my Skin by Janet McNaughton
In the year 2368, humankind must struggle to survive under dire environmental conditions and strict government control. In this startling world, one brave young woman begins to unravel a web of lies about life on Earth that will empower her to discover, at last, who she really is. McNaughton vividly imagines an all-too-believable future and celebrates the impact that one person can make on the world.

How can this not be good? Wait, no, I know: insta-love and love triangles. If those pop up, I'm gone. Otherwise, this looks so cool I can't believe I haven't read it yet! It looks a bit like Allegra Goodman's The Other Side of the Island.


2. Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley
In the little village of Castle Down, in a kingdom plagued by war, lives a peasant girl called Bella. Blessed with a kind family and a loving friend, she manages to create her own small patch of sunlight in a dark and dangerous world. Bella is a blacksmith's daughter; her friend Julian is a prince -- yet neither seems to notice the great gulf that divides his world from hers.
Suddenly Bella's world collapses. First Julian betrays her. Then it is revealed that she is not the peasant she believed herself to be: She is Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. Now he wants her back, so Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and sent to live with her deranged father and his resentful new wife. Soon Bella is caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life -- and the kingdom -- forever. With the help of her godmother and three enchanted gifts, she sets out on a journey in disguise that will lead her to a destiny far greater than any she could have imagined.

I love Stanley's Silver Bowl trilogy so, so much. Why haven't I read this other book by her? It looks so awesome! There's magic, royalty, friendship, love - That's it, I have to get my hands on a copy! Library, here I come.

3. Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French
It′s 1939, and for Georg, son of an English academic living in Germany, life is full of cream cakes and loving parents. It is also a time when his teacher measures the pupils′ heads to see which of them have the most ′Aryan′- shaped heads. But when a university graduation ceremony turns into a pro-Nazi demonstration, Georg is smuggled out of Germany to war-torn London and then across enemy seas to Australia where he must forget his past and who he is in order to survive.
Hatred is contagious, but Georg finds that kindness can be, too.

This is by the author of Hitler's Daughter, a short WWII book I first read many years ago. It really impacted me because it was the first WWII book I ever read, and because the plot was so cool to eight-year-old me. I've been meaning to read this companion novel for years but never really got around to it. One of these days, maybe I really will.

4. Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl
It starts when Alexandria, a poor, plain goose girl, offers her own bread and water to a hungry old woman-who just happens to be a witch in disguise. Poof! Alexandria is suddenly heartstoppingly beautiful. Her hair rains down gold dust, and the tears she sheds turn to diamonds. Soon a prince and a king are fighting for her hand, and they've locked her in a tower to keep her "safe." How Alexandria wishes she was a goose girl again! Clearly the only thing to do is escape-which is when her problems really begin! Patrice Kindl's inimitable voice and craft make this take on the classic fairy tale extraordinary-and extraordinarily hilarious. 

This reminds me of the Gail Carson Levine fairytale retelling of The Goose Girl. It looks like so much fun, and right up my alley - I've got a huge thing for fairytale retellings.

5. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year in Long Island, New York.
Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

This just looks fun, and way different from most Newberry Award-winning books (let's be honest, most of them are really boring/sad/both). I just discovered it recently, and I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out.

6. Revolution by Deborah Wiles
It's 1964, and Sunny's town is being invaded.  Or at least that's what the adults of Greenwood, Mississippi, are saying. All Sunny knows is that people from up north are coming to help people register to vote.  They're calling it Freedom Summer.
Meanwhile, Sunny can't help but feel like her house is being invaded, too.  She has a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister crowding her life, giving her little room to breathe.  And things get even trickier when Sunny and her brother are caught sneaking into the local swimming pool -- where they bump into a mystery boy whose life is going to become tangled up in theirs.
As she did in her groundbreaking documentary novel COUNTDOWN, award-winning author Deborah Wiles uses stories and images to tell the riveting story of a certain time and place -- and of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.

This one looks grabbing, thought-provoking, and funny. I've seen a lot of positive reviews, so I've got high hopes for it!

7. Paperboy by Vince Vawter
An 11-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 throws the meanest fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering, not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of July, he knows he'll be forced to communicate with the different customers, including a housewife who drinks too much and a retired merchant marine who seems to know just about everything. 
The paper route poses challenges, but it's a run-in with the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, that stirs up real trouble--and puts the boy's life, as well as that of his family's devoted housekeeper, in danger.

Aw, doesn't this look good? I've been seeing it all over the place lately, which is why I knew I had to put it on this list. I've never had a speech impediment, but I like reading about people overcoming them. It's just so inspiring!

8. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg
"I Prefer Not To.... "
That's Margaret Rose Kane's response to every activity she's asked to participate in at the summer camp to which she's been exiled while her parents are in Peru. So Margaret Rose is delighted when her beloved uncles rescue her from Camp Talequa, with its uptight camp director and cruel cabinmates, and bring her to stay with them at their wonderful house at 19 Schuyler Place.
But Margaret Rose soon discovers that something is terribly wrong at 19 Schuyler Place. People in their newly gentrified neighborhood want to get rid of the three magnificent towers the uncles have spent forty-five years lovingly constructing of scrap metal and shards of glass and porcelain. Margaret Rose is outraged, and determined to strike a blow for art, for history, and for individuality...and no one is more surprised than Margaret Rose at the allies she finds for her mission. 

This is an E.L. Konigsburg that looks really good, which I haven't read. How has this happened? I must fix this! Now!

9. The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
Martin lives in a perfect world.
Every year a new generation of genetically-engineered children is shipped out to meet their parents. Every spring the residents of his town take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and put up flowers. Every morning his family gathers around their television and votes, like everyone else, for whatever matter of national importance the president has on the table. Today, it is the color of his drapes. It's business as usual under the protective dome of suburb HM1.And it's all about to come crashing down.Because a stranger has come to take away all the little children, including Martin's sister, Cassie, and no one wants to talk about where she has gone. The way Martin sees it, he has a choice. He can remain in the dubious safety of HM1, with danger that no one wants to talk about lurking just beneath the surface, or he can actually break out of the suburb, into the mysterious land outside, rumored to be nothing but blowing sand for miles upon miles.Acclaimed author Clare B. Dunkle has crafted a fresh and fast-paced science-fiction thriller, one that challenges her characters -- and her readers -- to look closer at the world they take for granted.

Grr, this one drives me crazy. It looks so good, but I can't get at it! My library doesn't have it (I checked - twice), and I don't want to buy it in case it's not as good as it looks. But it sure looks like it's pretty good.

10. Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
In a secluded village, magic sparkles on the edges of the forest. There, a young girl named Evie possesses unusually strong powers as a healer. A gypsy's charms—no more than trinkets when worn by others—are remarkably potent when Evie ties them around her neck. Her talents, and charms, have not escaped the notice of the shy stonemason's apprentice. But Evie wants more than a quiet village and the boy next-door. When the young king's carriage arrives one day, and his footman has fallen ill, Evie might just get her chance after all . . .
Berry's debut novel garnered glowing reviews and strong sales—and now she's done it again with a beautifully woven tale to keep all readers, young and old, absolutely charmed.

It was the cover that first caught my attention and made me add it to my Goodreads TBR list, but it got buried by other books so fast that I completely forgot about it until I started making my list and dug it back out. I will definitely be reading this one soon.

Have you read any of the books on this list? If so, please let me know whether you liked it or not! Also, do you think I should continue this meme? Please tell me in the comments section below!

Teaser Tuesdays (Feb 3)

Okay, so for those of you who are new to this meme, here's how it works:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi Winget.

Synopsis (click the cover to check it out on Goodreads):

A moving middle-grade story about love, loss, and the unlikely places we find home.
Poppy's life has been turned upside down after her grandma (and guardian) had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. But Poppy is working on a plan to help Grandma Beth so their life together can go back to normal. But when she witnesses an armed robbery, "back to normal" slips even further out of her reach. To keep Poppy safe, the budget-strapped police devise an unusual "witness protection program," wherein Poppy will stay with Detective Brannigan's mother. Soon Poppy is feeling almost at home, even making sort-of friends with a girl named Lizzie and definitely friending Gunner, a beautiful dog with an uncertain fate. But it's still not home. So while she and Lizzie navigate a rocky friendship and plot to save Gunner's life, Poppy also tries to figure out a new plan to save Grandma Beth and their home, all while avoiding a dangerous robber who might be searching for her. But what if Grandma Beth can never come home and the robber is put behind bars? What will happen to Poppy then?

Here's this week's teaser, from page 129:

I wanted to tell her (Grandma Beth) I loved her, that everything would be okay, and to just sleep as long as she needed. But it felt like somebody had me by the throat.

Let me know what you think of the book, and check back this Friday for my review!