Ratings Explanation

Language: A steady stream of swear words and profanity including 13 F-words and another 3 F-words in Spanish.

Violence: Brief description of drug cartels and their torturing and killing tactics. It is related that a Tarahumara teenage boy is beaten to death, probably by members of a drug cartel.

Sexual Content: Jenn runs down the beach completely naked to win a bet.

Adult Themes: Jenn and Billy party, alot. They drink like fish, pass out, throw up and make complete fools of themselves. One night while drunk, Jenn loses most of  her clothing with no recollection of how it happened.  It is stated that in Juarez, Mexico hundreds of young women have been raped, murdered and dumped in the desert. Brief mention of a well-known lesbian and her affairs with Madonna and Angelina Jolie. A Tarahumara party is described including heavy drinking, wives in the bushes with other men, and grown women wrestling naked.

Synopsis

Christopher McDougall is a full-time writer and part-time runner. Frustrated with his injury prone body, he goes in search of a method to run without pain, focusing on the Tarahumara, a tribe of incredible distance runners who live in one of the most secluded parts of Mexico. The Tarahumara are famous for their ultra-endurance and their ability to run and remain injury free. Anxious to learn their secrets, McDougall travels to the deadly Copper Canyons, an area of the borderlands fraught with sheer cliffs, soaring temperatures, deadly snakes and to top it off, gun toting drug lords protecting their illegal grows.

McDougall hopes to gain insight into the Tarahumara through Caballo Blanco, an American known to live in proximity to the elusive tribe, but, like them, really hard to track down. When they finally do come face-to-face, Caballo enlists McDougall’s help to pull off a race that will pit North America’s elite ultramarathoners against the fabled Tarahumara.

Born to Run tells the inspiring and exciting stories of some of the world’s most (and least) famous ultra runners and the history behind their success, but much of the book focuses on what we think we know about running and why everything we think we know is wrong. From shoes to form to nutrition to evolution, this book explores our running history and what we should be doing differently in order to become the runner that is in each of us.

Inspiring! I am not much of a runner, but Born to Run has made me want to love running. I was fascinated with the different stories, failures and successes of past and present runners. Scott Jurek’s story is particularly interesting. He is a current ultra runner who almost always wins, but who also waits at the finish line cheering until the last runner crosses the finish line. Another favorite was Emil Zatopek, a Czech soldier who ran in the 1952 Olympics. The Czech team was so small that he could pick his events, so he picked all of them. Because he had never run a marathon, and because he was at the Olympics anyway, he competed in the marathon as well, asked advice from an English runner along the way, and won the gold medal! Emil was known for his compassion and genuine love for running and people. When the Soviets invaded Prague in 1968, he was given the choice to be a sports ambassador for them or to spend the rest of his life “cleaning toilets in a uranium mine. Zatopek chose the toilets. And just like that, one of the most beloved athletes in the world disappeared.” The Tarahumara and their history and culture was also interesting. Searching for their secrets and methods led McDougall to state, “That is the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running.”

Aside from the language I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is not written for young adults, but I think anyone, runner or not, would benefit from reading Born to Run. Recommended for 18+ because of language, but you have to be the judge of that, of course.

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.

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

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

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The Alamo, a massacre of many various Indian tribes and buffalo.  Many Chinese immigrant deaths accompanied the railroad expansion through the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

Adult Themes:  The advent of the Indian Reservation.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible book on America’s Westward Expansion.  The search for gold and land led to a hard scrabble rush for wealth.  There were many casualties that accompanied the American Westward Expansion.

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories. He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible story of America’s Westward Expansion.  I loved this book!  I really enjoyed the last chapter, “What Ever Happened to….?”

©2010 The Literate Mother

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence: The Revolutionary War.

Adult Themes: War.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible revolutionary war history book.

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories. He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible revolutionary war history book.   I laughed aloud when reading, ” Dawes and Revere (Paul) had a quick snack (you have to eat, even in the middle of famous historical events), Captain John Parker got the Lexington minutemen together on the town common.”  A snack amidst the start of The American Revolution?  I just don’t think of historical figures being concerned with eating.   I highly recommend this book.

©2010The Literate Mother

Illustrator: Tim Robinson

Ratings Explanation

Violence:   The Civil War.

Adult Themes:  War, death, and deplorable conditions for soldiers and P.O.W.’s.  Jefferson Davis’ five year old son slipped off a balcony to his death.

Synopsis

An entertaining, captivating and completely digestible civil war history book.

“War is cruelty.  There is no use trying to reform it.  The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” – William T. Sherman

Sheinkin, formerly a textbook writer, collected stories: good, funny, amazing, inspiring, surprising, and disgustingly true stories.  He has succeeded in writing an entertaining, captivating and completely digestible civil war history book.  I highly recommend “Two Miserable Presidents – The Amazing, Terrible, and Totally True Story of the Civil War”!  My sixth grader is currently held hostage by this fabulous book!

©2010The Literate Mother

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]]> http://www.theliteratemother.org/two-miserable-presidents/feed 2 http://www.theliteratemother.org/alone-orphaned-on-the-ocean http://www.theliteratemother.org/alone-orphaned-on-the-ocean#comments Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:34:30 +0000 Jennifer http://www.theliteratemother.org/?p=972

Ratings Explanation

Language: A couple of swear words and profanities.

Violence: A matter-of-fact description of a suicide in which a man makes deep cuts all over his body, bleeding to death. Terry Jo sees her mother and brother dead in a pool of blood. Harvey strikes Terry Jo. Two women die in a car crash. Speculation as to what happened the night of the ship wreck, including the alleged murders of Terry Jo’s family and Harvey’s wife.

Adult Themes: Tragic events leave 11-year-old Terry Jo an orphan. She sees her mother and brother dead and survives alone on the ocean. It was well known that Julian Harvey had many affairs. Harvey is possibly involved in smuggling guns to Cuba. Fraudulent insurance claims. Terry Jo’s experience is compared to being raped – losing her innocence. When she is older Terry moves in with a man, gets pregnant and then they marry. Terry and husband #4 fall in love while he is still married.

Synopsis

This is the real life tragedy of the Duperralut family and the mystery that still surrounds the survival of one of their daughters. In 1961 the Duperraults set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Chartering the Bluebelle, a 60-foot yacht out of Florida, they planned to spend several weeks, and possibly an entire year, sailing the tropics under the skilled hand of Julian Harvey, a decorated war veteran. But early in their sailing vacation, tragedy struck.

According to Harvey’s testimony at a Coast Guard hearing, a violent storm crippled the Bluebelle and she went down.  When Harvey was rescued, he had the dead body of 7-year-old Rene Duperrault with him, which he claimed he found floating in the water shortly after abandoning ship. Everyone else aboard was presumed lost at sea. But four days after the tragedy, 11-year-old Terry Jo was found floating on a cork raft, miraculously still alive. After hearing the news of Terry Jo’s survival, Harvey committed suicide, calling his entire testimony into question since Terry Jo was the only person alive who could corroborate or refute his account of the events of that fateful night.

From her hospital bed, Terry Jo gave her account of the events that led to the ship sinking and the death of her entire family. Her testimony was in direct contrast to that of Harvey. Not everyone believed the young girl, but based on her recollection of events and the murky details that emerged concerning Harvey’s sordid past, a plausible theory of murder and fraud emerged.

This is quite a gripping real-life mystery. Unfortunately for those who like all the ends tied up neatly, we will never know exactly what happened to the Bluebelle, Terry Jo’s family and Harvey’s wife. An amazing story of survival, I was glad to see Terry find peace after tragedy. The author seems a bit redundant at times, repeating on several occasions the same information, but for the most part it kept my attention. Although not written specifically for young adults, I think this true story would interest a young person.

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]]> http://www.theliteratemother.org/alone-orphaned-on-the-ocean/feed 0 http://www.theliteratemother.org/talking-to-girls-about-duran-duran-one-young-mans-quest-for-true-love-and-a-cooler-haircut http://www.theliteratemother.org/talking-to-girls-about-duran-duran-one-young-mans-quest-for-true-love-and-a-cooler-haircut#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:41:33 +0000 Bridget http://www.theliteratemother.org/?p=702

(Available July 2010)

Author of the National Bestseller “Love is a Mix Tape”

Ratings Explanation

Language: This book is laced with nearly every profane word.  Each word of profanity is used with grammatical variation – as a noun, verb and adjective.

Sexual Content: Teacher/Student Affair.  References to a blow job, gorilla condoms, sex-cookies, raging hormones, masturbating, sex, gay sex, bi-sexual sex, and a friction boner from wrestling.

Violence: The ice cream wholesaler says he will break Rob’s ankles if he ever hears of him selling anything other than ice cream out of the truck.

Adult Content: Rock Star Lifestyle. Drugs. Alcohol. Sexual Promiscuity. Adultery. Bisexuality. Homosexuality.

Summary

This is Rob Sheffield’s memoir.

“Rob Sheffield has been a music journalist for more than twenty years.  He is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where he writes about music, TV, pop culture, and regularly appears on MTV and VH1.  He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Love is a Mix Tape, which has been translated into French, German, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and other languages he cannot read.  He lives in Brooklyn New York.”

Each chapter is the title of a song.  Sheffield writes of his progression and transformation from pre-pubescent male to manhood via weaving each artist/song’s significance with his personal experience.

The Go-Gos, “Our Lips Are Sealed”

David Bowie, “Ashes to Ashes”

Ray Parker Jr., “A Woman Needs Love”

The Rolling Stones, “She’s So Cold”

The Human League, “Love Action”

O.M.D., “Enola Gay”

Culture Club, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”

Hall & Oates, “Maneater”

Roxy Music, “More Than This”

Bonnie Taylor, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

Haysi Fantayzee, “Shiny Shiny”

A Flock of Seagulls, “Space Age Love Song”

Chaka Khan, “I Feel For You”

Prince, “Purple Rain”

Paul McCartney, “No More Lonely Nights”

Madonna, “Crazy For You”

The Replacements, “Left of the Dial”

The Smiths, “Ask”

The Psychedelic Furs, “Pretty in Pink”

Lita Ford, “Kiss Me Deadly”

Tone Loc, “Funky Cold Medina”

New Kids On The Block, “Hangin’ Tough”

Big Daddy Kane, “Ain’t No Half Steppin’”

L”Trimm, “Cars With the Boom”

Duran Duran, “All She Wants Is”

Admittedly, I was sucked in by the hilarious title.  (Yes, judging a book by the cover…I am aware.)  This book is entertaining, and, I do love Duran Duran.   I enjoyed reading  Sheffield’s navigation of how to communicate with females.   If you choose to read, “Proceed With Caution”, this is loaded with language and sexual references.

©2010 The Literate Mother