2009 National Book Award Finalist

2010 Printz Honor Book

Ratings Explanation

Language: A few religious exclamations and a couple of swear words.

Sexual Content: Some discussion of animals mating and sexual behavior in animals and humans. Charles anticipates marriage and intimacy.

Adult Themes: Charles and Emma deal with the deaths of several family members. Charles struggles with his religious questions and with his decision to publicly challenge the Biblical account of the creation. He worries about the reaction that people of faith will have to his theory.

Synopsis

In his late twenties, Charles Darwin knew it was time to decide whether he would marry or not. Drawing a line down the middle of a piece of scrap paper, he made two headings: Marry and Not Marry. The Not Marry list included points like, “to have the expense & anxiety of children – perhaps quarrelling” and “Loss of time”, which was underlined twice. And my personal favorite, “Cannot read in the evenings – fatness and idleness – Anxiety & responsibility – less money for books &c if many children forced to gain one’s bread.”

But the side of Marry also contained some important items, for example, “constant companion (& friend in old age) who will feel interested in one–” and “Home, & someone to take care of house — Charms of music & female chit-chat. –These things good for one’s health.” Though the two lists were similar in length, Charles felt that the arguments supporting marriage outweighed those for staying single. So it was decided; he would marry.

Charles married his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood, in 1839 and together they had 10 children. The decision to marry Emma proved to be monumental both personally and professionally for Charles. He was lucky enough to find in her the love of his life, a woman who loved, supported and genuinely cared for him for the rest of his life. She nursed him through literally years of illness, read all that he wrote and, although she did not agree with some of his theories, offered insight and suggestions for improving his writing. Charles was always interested in Emma’s reaction to his writing as she was a “representative of the religious world he was up against” and she always gave him her honest opinion.

Emma was a woman of faith who believed strongly in God, the teachings of Jesus Christ and an afterlife. Charles had been open with her before their engagement, telling her of his religious doubts and his theory of natural selection, which denounced the Biblical account of creation. Even though they disagreed in this area, they decided that they would take a leap of faith and start a life together. Their marriage was not only one of man and woman, but also of science and religion. Charles and Emma takes the reader along for the journey as the Darwins build a life, a family and a groundbreaking scientific theory.

First of all, let me recommend this book – highly. I was fascinated by this intimate look into the life of Charles and Emma Darwin and their family. Their relationship was extraordinary. They disagreed on a very weighty subject, that of religion, but were respectful of each others opinions and views. Emma worried about Charles’s soul and whether they would be together in heaven or not and on more than one occasion asked him to read certain passages in the Bible and consider them. Charles would always comply with her wishes, but he would never lie to her. He could not believe in the Bible and he would not pray. It seems that neither of them ever tried to force the other to accept their beliefs or opinions.

According to the author, Charles was always an “English gentleman”. He waited years before publishing his theory of natural selection, mostly because he was very concerned about the social reaction it would inevitable incite. He had many friends and family members who were religious and he did not want to offend them. Charles did not hate religion or those who had faith. The popular belief of the time was that God created “every single species as it existed now, unchanged.”  Through his travels and observations, Charles  had discovered first hand the “modification by natural selection” apparent in different species and did not believe that God had created every single variation. Rather, he believed that each species survived based on its ability to adapt to its environment.

I honestly felt enriched after having read Charles and Emma. They are an incredible example of perseverance through trials and seemed to have been a truly loving and happy family. Charles was a gentle and loving father and Emma devoted her entire life to serving her husband and family. Whether one agrees with his theories or not, his contributions to science and research cannot be denied. I was grateful for this reminder and to have the opportunity to learn more about how he developed his theories. I definitely have a new admiration for Darwin.

Charles and Emma is written for young adults which was great for me because the science was very understandable. What an incredible opportunity to read with your children and discuss science, religion and what you believe about the two. My daughter is in line to read this next, and I am anxious to discuss it with her. An excellent and educational book.

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The book mentions that Jews are shot, beaten, and pulled apart as families. A soldier drags Syvia out of her hiding place and kicks her. Concentration camps mentioned.

Adult Content: The setting is the holocaust, which is a mature topic. The deplorable conditions of hunger and filth in the ghetto are described. The Jews fear being shot, being sent to the concentration camps, the children being found, starving to death, etc. Most of the fears are seen through the eyes of Syvia who only partially understands the horrors the Nazi’s are capable of. Syvia hides in a cemetery night after night, and later other places in town, as the Nazis round up the children in the ghetto.

Summary

Yellow Star is the true story of Syvia Perlmutter. She was four years old when World War II began, and she and her family and 270,000 other Jews were forced to live in the small, fenced-off ghetto of Lodz, Poland. Her experiences, and child-like views of the Holocaust, tell a moving story of courage, love and the survival of the Perlmutter family. They, like most Jews, are forced to live in terrible conditions of hunger, cold, fear, hard work and harassment by the Germans. When the ghetto was liberated in 1945, only 800 walked out. “Of those who survived, only twelve were children. [Syvia] was one of the twelve.” As most Jews are being sent off to concentration camps, Syvia’s father outsmarts the Germans to protect his family and others around him. This book is only listed as fiction because it is told in first-person verse and is a biography, not autobiography. The author is Syvia’s niece. The content of the book is from taped interviews given by Syvia.

Because Yellow Star is written in free verse, it makes for a quick read. The Library Media Connection praised the author for using age-appropriate language: “When Syvia witnesses the shooting of people in the street,…Roy captures the fear of the moment without graphic descriptions.” And I really appreciated that. This book has won many awards, and it is no wonder. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It is the most readable young adult holocaust book I’ve ever read, and while Syvia is the main character and a true hero, I found myself amazed over and over at the heroism displayed by her father. What courage he had! His family lived through the war because of him.

Violence:  There is some peril as Abby battles storms on the Ocean.  She is injured after a particularly difficult storm on the Indian Ocean.

Adult Themes:  Abby receives a lot of criticism through media about her attempt to sail around the world.  Her parents are attacked for allowing their daughter to do this.  They are accused of trying to achieve money and fame.

Synopsis

This book follows the epic and heroic journey of sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland as she sets out to be the youngest person to sail nonstop around the world unassisted.  Setting out from Marina Del Rey, California, Abby sailed a southern route around Cape Horn and become the youngest person to sail solo around the “Mount Everest of sailing”, proving wrong the critics that predicted her trip would last a few weeks at most.

Abby literally battled against the odds as her equipment failed, vicious storms pounded her, and the public attacked her family.  The greatest test came in the Indian Ocean, twenty-seven million square miles of the most treacherous and wicked waters on the earth.  Here Abby battled alone against the waves that would change her life forever.

When I first saw this book, I was interested.  I hoped that it would be an engaging read but didn’t really expect great things from it.  In the middle of reading another book, I picked up Unsinkable and thought I’d just take a glance at the first bit.  I couldn’t put it down.  All other books become non-existent as I became swept up in the story of Abby’s sailing.   I loved how the first chapter took me right into the middle of her worst nightmare and then pulled me out and placed me in the beginning where I learned about Abby’s family and her first experiences on board a sailing boat.  The story is cleverly told, alternating between Abby and a narrator where we get a whole picture.  There was a glossary in the back that helped me understand the sailing terms I am positively uneducated in.  There was also a diagram of Abby’s boat so I could identify where the things were that were being talked about.  It was an education!  What I loved most about Abby’s story is her courage and tenacity.  What a remarkable young woman.  I was so impressed with the calm self control and that core strength that Abby possesses that got her through the tough times.  At one point, her equipment was failing and she had to fix it.  She spent the whole night, drenched in cold water, in the dark trying to fix something with only verbal instructions over the phone.  She never lost her head, never became rude or impatient.  She kept trying and refused to give into the many things stacked against her.  That is some kind of impressive control.

I loved reading this book.  I can’t say enough good about how impressive Abby Sunderland is.  Her story is inspiring.  This is a fantastic read for adults and teens alike, and I’m better for reading it.

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes: Death, Miscarriage

Publisher’s Summary

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency apendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival.  What they weren’t expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed –a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy’s trip to heaven and back.

Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery–and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on.  He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born.  He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read.

A friend gave me this book and emphatically said, “You just have to read this!”  I enjoyed this uplifting read.  Colton’s statements resonated truth.  I looked forward to hearing what Colton had to say.  Although, I quickly tired of the father’s detailed narrative.  This book reaffirms how important faith is in our lives.

Ratings Explanation

Language: For a military book, Unbroken is quite light on offensive language. There is, however, one F-word which accounts for the  higher rating. There is also infrequent use of  swear words and profanity.

Violence: As a young boy, Louis fights other boys. In the military he receives a letter describing the death of a pilot and instructor in a plane crash. Soldiers throw hand grenades in sharks’ mouths and watch them blow up. Air fight over Nauru with shooting, bombing, wounded men and death. Bomb raid on Funafuti and its aftermath of dead and wounded. Sharks attack men on a raft and the men kill a shark. POWs are tortured repeatedly and dehumanized by their Japanese captors. They are starved, forced to exercise to exhaustion and beaten severely. Japanese kill 5000 conscripted Korean laborers according to the “kill all” rule which stipulates that no prisoners be allowed to be recaptured by Allied troops. There is to be no trace left of former prisoners. Guards torture and kill a duck that had become a sort of pet for the POWs. Louis states that this is the worst thing he witnessed during the war. Japanese kill 250,000 Chinese while searching for downed American pilots in China. One POW is attacked and beaten so severely that he is senseless for months, unable to take care of himself. One guard, Watanabe, is extremely violent and enjoys beating prisoners. He beats Louis daily, sometimes with a kendo stick, sometimes with his fists. 150 POWs burned in “kill all” order in the Philpines. Prisoners drive through Tokyo and see the aftermath of its bombing. Other Japanese cities bombed, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Sexual Content: There is a naked girl painted on one of the US bombers. Louis and his buddies have pinups in their bathroom and nickname their quarters the “pornographic palace”. Louis is asked by Japanese officers how American soldiers satisfy their sexual desires. Louie responds that they don’t satisfy them, but rely on willpower. The officer then tells Louis that the Japanese military “provides women for their soldiers, an illusion to the thousands of Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, and Filipino women whom the Japanese military had kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.” The extremely violent guard, Watanabe, is described as a “sexual sadist, freely admitting that beating prisoners brought him to climax.” He satisfied his sexual desire by hurting POWs. This is brought up several times throughout Louis’s captivity.

Adult Themes: As a young boy, Louis is described as “untamable”. He smoked at 5, drank at 8, and stole from homes and stores. Eugenics briefly discussed as a means to strengthen the human race by eliminating the “unfit” from the gene pool. Extreme physical and mental torture. The struggle for ex-POWs to assimilate back into life after the war. They had to deal with anger, grief and physical ailments from war time. Many drank themselves into forgetfulness feeling it was the only way to escape. There was really no treatment for PTSD and the other mental ailments of the POWs. For a time after he returns home from the war, Louis feels he must exact revenge and return to Japan to kill Watanabe.

Synopsis

Unbroken is the remarkable, true story of Louis Zamperini, a young delinquent who, with the help of his older brother, discovered a gift for running. Louis competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and then, when war broke out, signed up to serve in the Army Air Corps. Trained as a bombadier on the B-24, Louis’s plane crashes while searching for another downed US aircraft. What follows this crash is an incredible story that is gripping and horrifying. Pushed to the absolute limits of what a human can endure, Louis somehow not only survives, but triumphs.

This book of non-fiction is one of the best stories I have ever read. Louis’s story is so incredible that I found myself wondering how it could all be true. Hillenbrand does an exceptional job of bringing the history of Louis and the second World War to life, and although it deals with brutal themes and experiences, they are never portrayed in a sensational way. She relays the facts as facts.

I read Unbroken aloud with my husband and we were both glued to its pages. This story of triumph and forgiveness is incredible and we have recommended it to numerous friends and family. Be aware that this book is written for an adult audience, but I have posted it here because I think a mature, older high school student could handle the content and benefit from its message. All of us who have only lived during times of peace can use a reminder of what others sacrificed during war time.

There are so many lessons to be learned from Louis. He learned to control  his wild nature and was relentless in pursuing  his dream of running in the Olympics. I think this tenacity aided him greatly in surviving the horrors of war. He endured more than any human should be able to endure, and somehow maintained his humanity. Once  home from the war he hated and drank and almost gave up everything he gained through his experiences, but with a new found faith, he was able to forgive and dedicate his life to helping others. A truly amazing story.

121 pages

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  Kristallnacht – November 9th, 1937 , the fascist Nazi Storm Troopers seized Jewish property, murdered Jews, and ransacked synagogues and Jewish stores and homes.  It was a night that became known as “Crystal Night” because of the countless windows shattered.

Sexual Content:  Albert and Mileva have a daughter out of wedlock, Lieserl.  There is much speculation, as to whether or not she was put up for adoption, or if she died.  Albert probably never met Lieserl, since Mileva went home to Hungary and gave birth to Lieserl.  Albert and Mileva later marry and have two sons.

Adult Themes:  Bankruptcy. Albert and Mileva have a daughter out of wedlock.  Albert and Mileva’s son, Eduard has schizophrenia.  Albert and Mileva divorce.  Albert marries his cousin, Elsa.  Hitler’s regime rules Germany.

Summary

Albert’s biography is woven together through his family life, education, marriages, children, teaching positions, and his revolutionary papers that led to a Nobel Prize.  Albert renounced his German Citizenship and later spoke out against the strengthening of Nazism.  He was a brilliant and original thinker.

I love biographies and autobiographies!  My 6th Grader has a report on Einstein due next week.  He is supposed to dress as Einstein and tell the class a few things about his life as Einstein.  (I love the creative book reports!)  This is a great book.

©2010 The Literate Mother

306 Pages

Ratings Explanation

Language: Profane words used throughout.

Sexual Content:  One reference by Dick Pound to Landis’ unusually high testosterone  ratio, “You’d think he’d be violating every virgin within 100 miles.  How does he even get on his bicycle?”

Adult Themes:  Landis leaves his deeply religious upbringing and embraces modern culture.  He battles doping accusations.

Summary

This is Floyd Landis’ memoir.  He writes of his Mennonite childhood in Farmersville, Pennyslvania.  He grapples with his Mennonite values.  He excels at mountain biking and turns pro.  He discards his heavy sweat pants for cycling shorts.  Landis discovers Le Tour de France and switches to road biking.  He recounts his intense training, and his invaluable training tool, his power meter.  He recounts his TDF Races, as well as his Tour of California, Tour of Georgia, and many other European races.  In addition, he writes of his parent’s unconditional support.

This book was published in 2007, interesting title.  May 20th, 2010 Landis confessed to doping.  (Sociopath?)  Unfortunately, the TDF Win is just not sweet, when tainted.  I really enjoyed reading about the Tour de France, and the years of training that a cyclist must endure.  I found the formalities and etiquette of cycling fascinating.   A few years ago, we were able to see a few stages of the TDF.   Wow.  I don’t think the human body is built to withstand such a grueling race, without resorting to extraordinary measures.

©2010 The Literate Mother

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*This review refers to an advanced copy.  Cleopatra will be available for purchase in November 2010.

Ratings Explanation

Violence: Cleopatra’s family indulged in what has been termed, “an orgy of pillage and murder.”  Over and over, mothers sent troops against sons.  Sisters waged war against brothers.  Cleopatra’s great-grandmother fought one civil war against her parents and a second against her children.  Cleopatra’s father murdered her elder sister.  Cleopatra ably upheld the family tradition, eliminating a sister and two brothers.

Sexual Content:  Nothing could better have suited the twenty-two-year-old Cleopatra’s political agenda than motherhood.  And no single act could better have secured her future than bearing Julius Caesar’s child – while each of the new parents was married to someone else.  Incest.

Adult Themes: War, murder, adultery and betrayal.

Publisher’s Synopsis

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt.

Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator.

Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and–after his murder–three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since.

Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra’s supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff ‘s is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.

Among the most famous women to have lived.  Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt for twenty-two years.  At the height of her power, she controlled virtually the entire eastern Mediterranean coast, the last great kingdom of any Egyptian ruler.

Stacy Schiff is a brilliant writer!  If you love biographies, “Cleopatra” will hold you captive.

©2010The Literate Mother

Ratings Explanation

Language: A few common swear words.  Taunting and degrading talk towards those who were accused of being non-revolutionists (teachers, parents, wealthy, elderly etc).  Signs were hung around the city claiming unlawful actions and wrong doing on the part of many innocent people.

Violence:  The Revolution caused many to look down on the wealthy regardless of age or health.  Many teachers, parents and elderly were pushed around and beaten to get a confession of wrong doings.  Those who were suspected of having different political views and opinions were tortured and beaten until they confessed, whether they were guilty or not. Some committed suicide rather than face a life of disgrace.

Sexual Content:  Teacher accused of having relations with a student.  Mention of a women who had several sexual relations outside of marriage.  Ji-Li has an admirer but wants nothing to do with him.  When Ji-Li’s home is searched they find her sanitary belt.  She is humiliated that nothing is kept private.

Adult Themes:  The Revolutionaries taught that political status comes before family.  Many young people were caught up in the allure of their Revolutionary leaders and disowned their families.  The Revolution was meant to bring new ideas and change to improve China.  All old traditions and anything alluding to them were to be destroyed.  The homes of many families were searched for photos, books, clothing, antiques etc. that reflected old China.  These things were confiscated and destroyed leaving many families in poverty.  Teachers were looked down on as corrupting the minds of the youth with old ways.  They were publicly disgraced and replaced with new Revolutionary-minded teachers.  Reverse discrimination from the poor to the wealthy was common.  The wealthy were publicly humiliated and made to work regardless of age or health to help them repent of their years of wrong doing.  Those who were suspected of different political views were subjected to verbal torture from family members and physical punishment from captors.

Synopsis:  When Mao Zedong launches China’s  Cultural Revolution, young Ji-Li’s world turns upside down.  She was top of her school class and highly recognized for her hard scholastic work.  Ji-Li comes from a well-to-do Chinese family with a history of wealthy landlord ancestors. The Revolution taught that all old culture must be abandoned and the wealthy blamed for China’s suffering.  Ji-Li’s father, the son of a wealthy landlord, is detained leaving the rest of her family living in constant fear.  Over the next few years, Ji-Li must decide whether to disown her ‘black’ family and join the Revolution or give up all she has worked so hard for to help her family.

I was deeply touched by Ji-Li’s story.  I have a better understanding of how an entire nation can be swallowed up in an idea that leads to their destruction.  The Revolution through a child’s viewpoint was powerful and eye opening.  I closed the book with an appreciation for our incredible freedom and an admiration for all of the heroes around the world that choose to follow their heart.  The author, Ji-Li, currently oversees projects that promote eastern and western relations.  She also shares her story in person with many students around the nation.

©2010 The Literate Mother

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