Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days.
Bloomsbury. 2007.
ISBN: 9781599903781.
$17.95. Hardcover. 336 pages.

Readers Annotation
Locked in a tower for seven years with her mistress, Dashti is happy to serve. But when Lady Saren refuses to speak with her betrothed Dashti impersonates her, and she finds herself falling in love with the nobleman.

Plot Summary
16-year-old Lady Saren refuses to marry Lord Khasar, the man her father has chosen for her. As punishment she is locked in a tower with her lady’s maid, Dashti. Told from Dashti’s perpective as entries in a diary, we learn that before she became a maid she was a child of the steppes and orphaned. Because she could sing the healing songs she was trained to become a maid. Pledging herself to her mistress she soon learns that their fate is to be imprisoned together for seven years. Saren is miserable, while Dashti is joyful at having a place to live and food to eat for such a long time. Lady Saren is visited by two suitors. Lord Khasar who thinks the imprisonment will break her, and Khan Tegus from the neighboring city Song for Evela. Saren refuses to speak to either and forces Dhasti to speak to Tegus in her stead. Dhasti discovers that Tegus is as kind as Khasar is cruel. Their imprisonment is cut short by the destruction of the city. Dashti and Saren escape on foot. Together the girls discover that their destinies are more entwined than they had imagined.

Critical Evaluation
Hale’s novel is intriguing. Written in a diary style, it seems like a historic novel although it isn’t. The novel is based on an unknown story by the Brothers Grimm and has a fairytale vibe like her earlier Newbury winning novel The Princess Academy. This novel takes place in ancient central Asia, which has not been explored as story location in any novel I have read. Most critics said that they felt this book was magical, but I am not enamored. I found the story very slow, difficult to follow, and I barely finished it. Dashti is a well-developed character but the book held no surprises. From the beginning I knew how the book was going to end. I loved Hale’s Princess Academy, and her new graphic novel Rapunzel’s Revenge, but I will have difficulty giving this book a solid thumbs up.

Information about the author
Shannon Hale lives with her husband and two small children near Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the author of six young adult novels, and two adult novels. You can find out more about her on her website at http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html.

Genre
Fantasy.

Curriculum ties
None.

Challenge Issues
None.

Challenge defense ideas
There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book. You can find out more about this book on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thousand-Days-Shannon-Hale/dp/1599903784/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260298468&sr=1-1.

Booktalking Ideas
1. Discuss the imprisonment of Dashti and Saren.
2. Talk about their escape from the tower.

Reading Level/Age
Young adult, ages 14 to 17.

Why I included this title
I enjoyed Princess Academy, and Rapunzel’s Revenge and it was recommended by Hicklebee’s Books.

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata

Kadohata, Cynthia. Outside Beauty.
Antheneum. 2009.
ISBN: 9781416998181
$16.99. Hardcover. 288 pages.

Readers Annotation
Shelby’s mother has had a terrible accident, and how she and her sisters will have to live with their fathers – apart for the first time.

Plot Summary
Shelby is one of four sisters by four different fathers. When their mother suffers a terrible disfiguring car accident the girls are forced to live with their respective fathers. The mother Helen Kimura is a Japanese bombshell who collects men along with their money whatever expensive jewelry they buy her. She usually leaves them by moving to a new city with her daughters. The girls are very close with the eldest taking care of the younger. Eldest Marilyn is 16 and half Italian. Shelby, the narrator is 13 and fully Japanese American. Lakey, age 8 is half Chinese, and youngest sister Maddie is 6, and half anglo. After the girls separate to live with their fathers, Shelby begins to suspect that Maddie's father is abusing her. Shelby, living in rural Arkansas with a father she barely knows is a revelation. She comes to appreciate her father for his quiet ways and knowledge. It is the girl’s fierce loyalty and determination that keeps them together in tough times.

Critical Evaluation
The novel is placed in the 1980’s without any of the cultural references expected. The novel feels like it should be placed in the ‘50s or ‘60s because – who has four daughters with four different men when birth control is so readily available? Mother Helen Kimura is a modern geisha girl. She basically prostitutes herself to get the things she wants. The only thing she cares about is beauty – the beauty you can see on the outside, not the beauty of a personality or soul. She is very shallow and selfish. When she is in involved in the accident and her faced is ruined she basically has a mental breakdown. Shelby is an insightful narrator, but comes across as much older than her 13 years. When I finished this book I wondered what the author was really saying about beauty. Maybe Kadohata just wanted to tell girls that beauty is a fleeting thing, and they are better off with familial love and being smart rather than beautiful. It seems that the author took the long way around to get to that message.  The relationship between the sisters, and Shelby and her father are precious and realistic.  Those moments are the best thing about the book.

Information about the author
Cynthia Kadohata (1956-) won the Newbery Medal for her novel Kira-Kira in 2005. Her website has not been updated to include this book (or maybe she is ignoring it). You can find out more about Cynthia and her family at http://www.kira-kira.us/.

Genre
Narrative Fiction

Curriculum ties
None

Challenge Issues
Promiscuity

Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its content.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Beauty-Cynthia-Kadohata/dp/1416998187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260280946&sr=1-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens that have read it.

Booktalking Ideas
I wouldn’t booktalk this novel because I don’t like it.

Reading Level/Age
Young adult, ages 12 and up.

Why I included this title
I like Kadohata’s Kira-Kira, so I thought I would like this book too.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A novel.
Random House. 2008.
ISBN: 9780385340991
$22.00. Hardcover. 288 pages.

Readers Annotation
It’s 1946 and Juliet Ashton, a writer, is looking for sunny subjects to report. She never expects to find the stories on the Isle of Guernsey.

Plot Summary
This epistolary novel begins in 1946 just as London is emerging from the Second World War. Writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a farmer on Guernsey Island. Adams had come across her name in a book he purchased written by Charles Lamb. Juliet and Dawsey continue to exchange letters, and she comes to intimately know the people who inhabit his world. She discovers that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was created as an alibi when the Germans occupied the island. As Juliet’s correspondence continues with the members of the society, she learns about their home, the books they enjoy, and the impact of the German occupation. Juliet is so captivated by their stories that she sets out to join her new friends. She wants to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an island resident, Elizabeth in a German prison camp. The letter format might be a novelty for young adults who text message all day long, but it is a great way to see the (mostly) beautiful communication of the past, when life allowed us time to put a pen to paper.

Critical Evaluation
Many critics noted the similarity between this novel and the works of Jane Austen. I never noticed any similarity between the two, although Austen is often mentioned among other writers in the novel. This novelty of this book is in the letters themselves. Shaffer is excellent at finding the voice of each of her characters. The novel is truly like reading personal mail from the past. The characters are beguiling and readers will have sympathy for their plight during the occupation. The only part I did not care for was the subplot about Elizabeth and her daughter Kit. After Elizabeth is taken away to a concentration camp, the people on the island raise her daughter Kit. It is heartrendingly sad in such a joyous novel of renewal. I would recommend this book to any young adult who wants to read a good novel in a unique format.

Information about the author
Mary Ann Shaffer (1934-2008) was inspired to write this novel after a visit to England in 1976. As she finished the novel her health began to decline and her niece, Annie Barrows completed the writing process. This is Shaffer’s only novel. Annie Barrows is the author of the Ivy & Bean series for children. You can find out more about Shaffer at http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1586. You can find out more about Annie Barrows at http://www.anniebarrows.com/

Genre
Historic fiction

Curriculum ties
English, history and social studies: WWII, letter writing.

Challenge Issues
None

Challenge defense ideas
There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book. You can find out more about this book on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Peel-Society/dp/B002WTC8RA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260164060&sr=1-1

Booktalking Ideas
1. Discuss the format of the book (letters vs. straight narrative fiction)
2. Discuss the occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII

Reading Level/Age
Adult crossover

Why I included this title
I consider it one of the best books of 2008.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Chains.
Simon & Schuster. 2008.
ISBN-13: 9781416905851.
$16.99. Hardcover. 316 pages.

Reader’s Annotation
When Isabel and Ruth lose their opportunity to become free slaves they are forced to work for the Locktons. Isabel becomes a spy for the patriots in hope of gaining freedom for herself and her little sister.

Plot Summary
It is 1776, and Isabel’s owner has promised her freedom upon her death. Isabel’s parents are long dead leaving the girls alone. When their kindly owner, Miss Mary Finch dies, Isabel and her sister, Ruth, are sold away. Their new owners the Locktons, are traditional wealthy loyalist slave owners. The Lockton’s are bound for their home in colonial New York. New York is now a hotbed of revolutionary activities. Their arrival is inauspicious. Accosted by revolutionary soldiers at the docks, the Lockton's refuse to cooperate. It is here that Isabel meets a young African American boy, named Curzon. Curzon is a revolutionary soldier, and a slave who works for Captain Bellingham. He asks Isabel to spy on the Lockton household for the revolutionary army.

Isabel and Ruth are in a city they don’t know with a new mistress who is unkind. Isabel is tasked to work in the house. She assists the housekeeper Becky, while fair skinned Ruth is dressed up like a doll and kept at Madam Lockton’s side. While Isabel is serving the Lockton household she become privy to information about the British army. She agrees to help Curzon, and the revolutionary army to gain her freedom. Isabel also helps the British loyalists in turn searching for a way to freedom. Isabel has many adventures including escaping a fire, and freeing Curzon from a British prison, but her greatest adventure is escaping from her owners in order to find her missing sister, Ruth.

Critical Evaluation 
Chains is a story about struggles. The first struggle is that of Isabel attempting to gain her promised freedom. The second is the struggle for American Independence from British. While the Revolutionary War is often romanticized in history, this story brings to life the daily intrigue and battles that occurred. Anderson’s story allows the reader to process the perspective from both sides of the independence argument through Isabel’s eyes. This story is about the price of freedom and the choices one makes. Anderson examines the cost through Isabel’s eyes when the character chooses to help the American’s in their fight for freedom, and then the British in their attempt to hold back the inevitable war. The final price Isabel has to pay is not apparent in this novel, yet the reader knows that the loss of freedom is nothing compared to the loss of her sister. Isabel’s choice to finally escape from her loyalist owners comes only after she discovers where her sister is located. Isabel’s claim of freedom parallels the American fight without influencing either, for she comes to understand that she will remain a slave whatever side wins the battle.

Anderson’s chapters are short and easy to read. The story is a dynamic look at slavery from its earliest history. The choice to present a Revolutionary War historic novel, and not one placed during the Civil War is brilliant. Many people forget that slavery existed in this country for more than one hundred years before the onset of the Civil War. This novel brings history to life in a way that is complex and dramatic. Isabel, Ruth, and Curzon are not characters a reader will soon forget. This novel is the first of a set, and no date is available for publication of the second book. This book has the capability of becoming a classic in YA literature, and should be included in any discussion about slavery or the American Revolution.

Information about the author
Laurie Halse Anderson was born on October 23, 1961 in Potsdam, New York. Her novel Speak is a National Book Award finalist, Printz Honor book, and Booklist “Top 10 first novels in 1999.” Her novels are also featured on several ALA YALSA top 100 books lists.

Genre
Historic Fiction 

Curriculum ties
This book could be included in any discussion about slavery or the Revolutionary War.

Booktalking Ideas 
1.  Discuss the sale of Isabel and Ruth despite their free status.
2.  Talk about why Isabell is reluctant to become friends with Curzon.  Why does she change her mind?
3.  Discuss sister Ruth and her apparent disability. 

Challenge Issues
Violence

Challenge defense ideas
• Become familiar with the book and its content.
• Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
• Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Chains-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/1416905855/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0.
• Try to get reviews of the book from readers (including teens) that have read the work.

Reading Level/Age 
Young Adult.  Ages 14 and up.

Why I included this title:
This book is included on the YALSA “2009 Best Books for Young Adults.”