Donut Days by Lara Zielin is a novel about donuts, religion, dating, college, familial tension, and friendship, though not necessarily in that order. Sixteen-year old Emma lives in a small Minnesota town. Her parents are both pastors of an equally small Christian church and Emma’s Mom just gave a sermon hinting at the possibility that God might just be a girl. Such insight throws the congregation into turmoil and Emma’s mother eventually steps down as pastor.

Religion figures dominantly in Donut Days. Emma is a conflicted young lady. On one hand, Emma values her Christian faith. She has doubts, but on the whole, she accepts Christianity’s most basic tenets. On the other hand, Emma craves exposure to other views, opinions, and beliefs. She has no interest in attending a Christian-based college when she graduates from high school. In the middle of the book, when Emma’s father delivers an ultimatum that Emma either attend a Christian college or pay for college herself, Emma experiences a meltdown that forces her to choose between her family and her desire for a more secular life.

In the middle of all this religious doubt lies a mild-mannered mystery involving her parents and the congregation’s wealthiest member. It seems the church is considering buying some land on which to build a new church. Emma, with the help of her friend/boyfriend, uncover the fact that the land is actually polluted and that the congregation’s wealthiest member is secretly behind the sale. The two join forces and manage to reveal the plot, but the congregation doesn’t react quite the way they anticipated.

Finally, Emma attends a camp that sprung outside a soon-to-open donut store appropriately called Krispy Dream. Emma dreams of being a journalist one day and plans on using the camp’s inhabitants as source material for an article that she hopes will win a college scholarship contest. She stumbles upon a biker gang that recently discovered Jesus, gets to know them and their life stories, and thinks about using one of them as the source of her article.

I do heartily recommend Donut Days, though girls are going to be more interested in it than guys. The book does a good job of portraying a teen in conflict, in terms of boys, her family, and the religion that she loves but that threatens to smother her. Emma does spend some time talking about how hot her boyfriend is, putting the book firmly in “Chick” book territory. Still, Emma’s struggle with religion and family issues will likely strike a chord with most young adult readers and that alone make it a worthwhile read.

BoTW: Pop

Pop by Gordon Korman is the story of a young high school football player who moves to a new town with his Mom after his parents get divorced. Marcus Jordan is a talented quarterback, but when he tries to join the school’s football team, he discovers they won the championship the before, only graduated four seniors, and don’t want anything to do with Marcus. Ultimately, Marcus perseveres and earns a spot on the team through hard work, determination, and skill.

However, Pop isn’t really about Marcus having a hard time joining the team. Instead, it’s about a very special man that Marcus meets while practicing football drills at the local park. Charlie seems to come out of no where and tackle Marcus. That’s right! Marcus has never met Charlie in his life and one of his first interactions with the fifty-ish year old man is a total blindside tackle.

Marcus instantly infers that Charlie knows football. Despite being a middle-aged man, Charlie moves with an athletic grace that belies his years. And Charlie loves to tackle people. He loves the “pop,” the sound and physical crush of bringing an opposing football player down. After more than a few days of practicing with Charlie at the park, Marcus finds out that Charlie is no ordinary man, but a former NFL defensive player nicknamed “The King of Pop.” Before Marcus meets Charlie, he is afraid of being tackled. He’s skittish at the idea of an opposing player hitting him. But after days and days of drilling with Charlie, Marcus learns how to absorb a hit, even relish the physical pain of taking a “pop.” Marcus loses his fear of being tackled and becomes a better player for it.

Marcus also senses that something is not quite right with Charlie. Marcus knows that Charlie has a wife and children, but he doesn’t seem to acknowledge them. Marcus sets meeting times for them to drill and Charlie often shows up late or not at all. Charlie also thoroughly enjoys playing pranks on a local store-owner, often at the expense of Marcus taking the blame.

Marcus eventually discovers the source of Charlie’s issue and spends much of the story doing all he can to help him. The book, however, ends on a decidedly sad note. In my opinion, the startling ending doesn’t match the rest of the book in tone or theme. Despite an uneven ending, Pop is an outstanding book. If you’re a football player, this book is a must read, if only for the important message the book delivers about a controversial football issue.

New Arrival! Mockingjay

It's finally here! Swing by the library and see if you can get your hands on one of the hottest young adult series, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Library Tip of the Week

Last week's Book of the Week was Gym Candy by Carl Deuker. Here's the link to Carl's website. It's chocked full of good stuff, including a ton of trailers for his books:

http://www.members.authorsguild.net/carldeuker/index.htm

BoTW: When You Reach Me

An event by itself often doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of a person's life. But when you string them together, can they divine a grander meaning? When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead takes a stab at answering that question within a suspenseful, mysterious novel.

Miranda, a twelve-year old of a single parent, witnesses a series of seemingly random events that eventually converge into a mission of life and death. Her mom is preparing as a contestent on the game show The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda's best friend Sal is inexpicably punched by a new student. Miranda's apartment key goes missing. And then Miranda's received the first of many letters that says:

I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own.

I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming and very often describe events that haven't even happened yet, leading Miranda to the conclusion that only she can prevent someone's premature death.

When You Reach me is the 2010 John Newbery Award Winner and features prominately on the 2010 Lone Star list as well. The American Library Association describes the book as having a "brilliantly constructed plot." Stop by the library and check it out for yourself!

New Arrival!

We've got a bran new book here at the Smith library, Clone Codes, by Patricia McKissack. The Destiny summary says:

"On the run from a bounty hunter who arrested her mother for being part of a secret society devoted to freeing clones, thirteen-year-old Leanna learns amazing truths about herself and her family as she is forced to consider the value of freedom and what it really means to be human in 2170 America."

Library Tip of the Week

Last Monday I posted about Carl Deuker's Gym Candy. Carl has a great website devoted to his book, including book trailers created by his fans. I've posted a fan-created book trailor below:

BoTW: Gym Candy

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker is a 2009 Lone Star award winner. It's about a young high school football player who feels so much pressure to excel, he turns to steroids to improve his game. The book paints a pretty bleak picture of steroid use, and doesn't pull any punches in describing the drug's many side effects. The ending is especially intense and hard hitting. Gym Candy is a must-read for any sports fan, but also has broad appeal for any reader that likes a good book.

And if you like Gym Candy, you should also check out Pop by Gordon Korman, another football themed book with quality writing, great characters, and a good message.

New Arrival!

James Patterson has a new book, Witch and Wizard, but it looks to be a stand-alone book rather than the usual series titles he's best known for. Here's the Destiny summary:

"A sister and brother, along with thousands of young people, have been kidnapped and either thrown in prison or turned up missing after accusations of witchcraft were made against them, and the ruling regime will do anything in order to suppress life and liberty, music and books."

Library Tip of the Week

On Monday, I talked about the outstanding historical fiction book The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. The author, Jacqueline Kelly, has an excellent website to accompany her book, including a slide show presentation showing photographic examples of the places Calpurnia might have visited during her scientific explorations.

You can find the site at http://www.jacquelinekelly.com/index.html.

BoTW: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

When I first saw the cover of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, my immediate thought was, "I don't want to read this book." I'll be the first to admit, I was once again judging a book by its cover. In my defense, the cover does depict the silhouette of a girl holding her hand out for a hovering dragonfly, a butterfly net slack at her side. At first glance, I thought the book was about frolicking in meadows and sewing pretty dresses, and as a dude accustomed to reading manly books like Leviathan, I had no inclination to read about a girl and her butterfly net.

You'd think I'd learn.

On a whim, I decided to give Calpurnia Tate a chance. I'm glad I did. Inside, I found an engrossing book about a young girl growing up in central Texas more than one hundred years ago. I love historical fiction and Calpurnia Tate does an exceptional job of painting a picture of what life must have been like in turn-of-the-20th century Texas.

Each chapter of the book begins with a quote from Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species and depicts one in a series of typical events in the life of Calpurnia Tate, the book's main character. Calpurnia is eleven years old, the only daughter of a family of six boys! She lives on a pecan farm not far from Austin and loves more than anything to spend time with her grandfather exploring the countryside studying the local flora and fauna.

What Calpurnia doesn't enjoy doing is everything expected of a girl growing up in 19th century Texas: sewing, cooking, knitting, piano playing, and behaving like a lady. Calpurnia struggles with the weight of these expectations throughout the entire book because deep down she knows she wants nothing more than to go to college and become a natural scientist, a life-long dream that runs counter to her mother and the community in general.

In the middle of Calpurnia's struggle to be a scientist instead of a housewife, Jacqueline Kelly masterfully describes life in the post-Civil War era. One of my favorite chapters entitled "Thanksgiving" tells the story of how Calpurnia's little brother Travis gets the responsibility of caring for the family's three turkeys, all destined for the holiday plate. Travis, a softy for all critters, wastes no time naming all three turkeys and they soon become his very own pets to the point where the turkey trio come running up to greet him whenever he approaches. When Travis discovers the family means to eat the turkeys come Thanksgiving, he does everything he can to "accidentally" allow the birds to escape. It's a hilarious and insightful chapter, but not one that ends happily for Reggie, Tom Turkey, and Lavania.

In some ways, the book's series of anecdotal stories reminds me of the 70s show Little House on the Praire. Calpurnia Tate bears a passing resemblance to the spunky Laura Ingalls. However, Calpurnia Tate is not nearly as full of homespun goodness as Little House. Unlike the TV show, which very often preached a moral code, Calpurnia Tate very much feels like a real person growing up in a unique period of U.S. history.

As you can tell by now, I highly recommend the book. It's smartly written, contains interesting, admirable characters, and is an invaluable prism for gazing into life in Texas a century ago, and yet another example of giving a book a try despite its butterfly girl cover.