First, Stuart Gibbs' Belly Up. At the moment, I think this is my favorite of the MHL books. It's very funny - I laughed out loud when Theo, the narrator, armed zoo chimps with water balloons to throw at zoo visitors (who, to be fair, started it), then explained when chastised that, sans water balloons, they would have thrown feces. Also hilarious - the climactic chase scene, which culminates in a hippo coffin falling from a crane, with the dead hippo inside exploding all over a crowd of mourners. Good stuff. The mystery is also appropriately mysterious, although I would have appreciated some clues dropped along the way. My only real problem is the way this book (and Chomp, which I'll be getting to) depict overweight people as inherently stupid and slow. Obesity does not go hand in hand with stupidity and it's irresponsible to teach kids that it does.
Next up, Marsha Hayles' Breathing Room, a historical fiction set in a Minnesota TB sanitarium during World War II. I am always partial to books set in Minnesota, so this book had that going for it. I also appreciate when authors don't shy away from the gravity of a situation and, in killing off quite a few primary supporting characters, Hayles certainly checks this box. That said, I didn't find Breathing Room to be terribly memorable (it's middle grade historical fiction - it's fine) and I found the rather awkward insertion of a Jewish character to be rather heavy-handed. Of course, what do I know? I overheard a couple of 7th graders talking about this book and both proclaimed it to be "awesome."
Matthew Kirby's Icefall was a story I really liked. I loved the discussion about the power of stories that was threaded throughout the book. Solveig talks about using words and stories as weapons and medicine, to give hope and take it away... in that and in the way it showed, obliquely, how myths are born from truth, it reminded me a little of Watership Down. I also really liked the way the traditional Norse myths were incorporated. I've always liked Norse mythology, but it is so frequently overshadowed by Greek and Roman, so it was nice to see it take a starring role. I loved the relationship Kirby built between Solveig and Hake, Asa's betrayal caught me off-guard, and Alric's sacrifice gave me chills. My only real complaint is one I also had for Belly Up - I want these mysteries to drop a few subtle clues. I don't need to be able to solve it ahead of time, but I love looking back at mysteries and seeing the breadcrumbs.
Finally, Carl Hiaasen's Chomp. Unexpectedly exciting, even if I rolled my eyes a bit at the coincidence of Wahoo's group, Derek Badger, and Mickey Cray and that drunken idiot all winding up on the same island. But let's back up. Given what we would have been learning about Bear Grylls about the time Chomp came out, I'd say this is a pretty good takedown of reality television survivalists. Derek Badger is cartoonish, but probably not far off from a lot of reality stars. Unrelated, I appreciated Tuna's arc. As I said above, the thing I had a problem with was the depiction of obesity. Derek's overeating is emblematic of his many character flaws; likewise for Sickler. Hiaasen, like Gibbs, uses being overweight as shorthand for being inept, selfish, and stupid.
Next time, the final four: Cinder, Ghost Dog Secrets, Words in the Dust, and Heart of a Samurai.
No comments:
Post a Comment