And the award goes to...

As part of Fig and Thistles Dickens in January project, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts on some of the characters from the Dickens novels that I've read. (A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, Little Dorrit, Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield.)

MOST ROMANTIC COUPLE:  John "Rokesmith" and Bella Wilfer from Our Mutual Friend

GREATEST ROMANTIC HERO: John "Rokesmith" from Our Mutual Friend


MOST TRANSFORMED HEROINE: Bella Wilfer from Our Mutual Friend


GREATEST SIDEKICK TO A HERO: Sam Weller from Pickwick Papers.

GREATEST-GUARDIAN-EVER: John Jarndyce from Bleak House.

BEST OVER-ALL HEROINE:  Esther Summerson from Bleak House

THE SILLIEST OF HEROINES: Dora Spenlow from David Copperfield

THE GOODY-TWO-SHOES HEROINE: Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit

THE MOST-SENSIBLE YET UNDER-APPRECIATED HEROINE: Agnes Wickfield from David Copperfield

THE HERO WHO TOOK THE LONGEST TO REALIZE WHO HE REALLY SHOULD BE WITH: A tie between Arthur Clennam from Little Dorrit and David Copperfield from David Copperfield.

THE ORPHAN I FEEL MOST FOR... A tie between Lizzie Hexam from Our Mutual Friend and Oliver Twist from Oliver Twist.

BEST STRONG-WILLED, NO-NONSENSE AUNT: Betsey Trotwood from David Copperfield

BEST AT SHOWING UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: Daniel Peggotty from David Copperfield


© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Fault In Our Stars (YA)

The Fault In Our Stars. John Green. 2012. Penguin. 336 pages.

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death. 
Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. (Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really.) 

Hazel, our heroine, is dying of cancer. When she ever-so-reluctantly attends a cancer support group, she meets Augustus Waters. After these two meet, well, both have reason to want to live. Augustus definitely loves her and wants to be with her. She's slightly more reluctant because she gets caught up thinking about the future, how there can be no future, since she could end up dying in a matter of weeks, months, whatever. She would rather hurt him now--by refusing to be with him--than hurt him later by her death. But a few things happen to change her mind, to cause her to open her heart and mind to living life in the present.

It's a bittersweet romance. But bittersweet in a good way. Much of the novel does deal with serious subjects--like death, dying, questioning the 'meaning' of life, the 'point' of it all. But it's not without its lighter moments--like the lonely swing set. It's a sad novel, to be sure, but it's not without hope.

I liked this one. I'm not sure that I LOVED it. (Peter Van Houten annoyed me greatly even when he wasn't being super-cranky. I didn't find his book, his writing, oh-so-wonderful like Hazel does. I thought he was obnoxious from the start.) But I definitely found this one worth reading. The book is very well-written. And the dialogue between these two was great.

Read The Fault In Our Stars:

• If you love John Green, if you've enjoyed his previous books
• If you are looking for a bittersweet all-too-realistic, all-too-heartbreaking romance
• If you are looking for a good YA book with plenty of heart (don't mistake heart for cute and sweet though)

Two of my favorite quotes:

"I'm in love with you," he said quietly.
"Augustus," I said.
"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."
"Augustus," I said again, not knowing what else to say. (153)

"What am I at war with? My cancer. And what is my cancer? My cancer is me. The tumors are made of me. They're made of me as surely as my brain and my heart are made of me. It is a civil war, Hazel Grace, with a predetermined winner." (216)

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Bedtime Board Books

Yawn. Sally Symes. Illustrated by Nick Sharratt. 2011. (December 2011) Candlewick Press. 24 pages.

Sean gave a yawn while sitting on his mat. Guess who he gave it to. A Scruffy, fluffy.....cat.

Yawn is probably my favorite and best of the bedtime board books I'll be reviewing today. What do I love about it? Well, it is fun and playful. There is a story to it. (It's not just describing the nightly rituals or routines of bedtime: taking a bath, brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, hearing a story, getting kissed, etc.) And board books with story are a good thing! But the thing I probably love most about this one is the rhyming! The rhyming helps little ones predict who will yawn next. I also enjoyed the ending...where readers see all the animals who've caught the yawn, snuggling up with Sean in his bed. For all these animals are his toys. I thought that was clever and fun! I also liked how baby-friendly this one was. There is a large die-cut hole that is the yawn for the characters. This book serves as a dare to parents to read it without yawning.

Read Yawn

• If you're looking for a GREAT bedtime story in board book format to share with little ones
• If you're looking for a great story with some predictability and repeat value to it

Noodle Loves Bedtime. Nosy Crow. Illustrated by Marion Billet. 2011. (September 2011). Candlewick Press. 10 pages.

Noodle loves to splash.
Noodle loves to drink.
Noodles loves toothpaste and brushing at the sink.
Noodle loves to snuggle with a soft, fluffy sheep.
And just like Noodle, you love to sleep!

If you're looking for a super-short, super-simple board book about bedtime routines, then Noodle Loves Bedtime might be the one for you. Noodle is a new character--a panda, of course--that will be the star in several board books.

I am not a fan of Noodle--not yet anyway. While Noodle Loves Bedtime doesn't make the mistake of being sickeningly sweet and cute, it does lack story, in my opinion. This one shares very simple statements about bedtime with children, but they're not very entertaining statements. The back of the book uses exclamation points to sell you on the idea that this is a great book because it has "objects to spot and name" with your toddler. But any illustrated book features objects that you can spot and name.

Noodle Loves Bedtime is a touch and feel book. But not all of the touch-and-feel elements are truly touch-and-feel. (Shiny isn't so much a texture to feel. Yes, your eyes can see that the bubbles have shine to them. And the bottle texture is unlike any bottle I've ever seen. The two best touch-and-feel elements are probably the sticky-sticky toothpaste and the soft, fluffy sheep. The book also includes a mirror.)

Read Noodle Loves Bedtime

• If your little one just LOVES pandas
• If your little one just loves touch-and-feel books
• If you're looking for a quick bedtime story to share with little ones;

Good Night, I Love You. Caroline Jayne Church. 2012. Scholastic. 20 pages.


It's time for bed, so let's get ready.
Bring your bunny. Bring your teddy.
Bath fun at the end of the day!
Laugh, splash, giggle, and play!

I liked this one. I did. I liked it. Illustrations are very subjective, I know. And chances are you'll either love these by Caroline Jayne Church...or you won't. You might think they are a little too sweet, a little too cute. But. For me, they are just right. I just love the way she illustrates her books. I love the way she draws children!

Good Night, I Love You does rhyme. And it is a pleasant enough rhyme. This one does focus more on bedtime rituals than a true story. But because of all the details, because of all the descriptions--laughing, splashing, giggling, etc. I don't seem to mind it as much.

Read Good Night, I Love You

• If you're looking for a cute, rhyming bedtime story to share with your little ones

The Things I Love About Bedtime. Trace Moroney. 2012. Scholastic. 16 pages.

I love bedtime, and these are things I love most...
I have a bath,
brush my teeth...
and put on my favorite pajamas.
Mom pretends she is a huggle-monster and chases me into bed, and gives me a great....big....hug!
I snuggle into bed with my teddy-bunny and Dad reads me a story.
Then we talk about the best moments of my day....

The Things I Love About Bedtime actually surprised me with the amount of text it has! I was expecting it to be simple and cutesy. Now, this one does have those super-cutesy moments--think Guess How Much I Love You--but it offers more than just sentimental sweetness. I was expecting it to be a little more like Jane Yolen's Good Night, Little Bunny. It is probably the longest and most complex of the board books I'm sharing today. Which might make it more appropriate for a slightly older little one. (The pages of this board book are a little thinner as well, though they are still thicker than ordinary paper in 'gentle' books.)

Read The Things I Love About Bedtime

• If you're looking for a board book about bedtime routines--happy, calm, safe, gentle, sweet routines.
• If you're little one loves bunnies
• If you're looking for a bedtime story with a little more substance
• If you're looking for bedtime books that feature both a mom and dad

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Boy Called Dickens

A Boy Called Dickens. Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by John Hendrix. 2012. Random House. 40 pages.

This is Old London, on a winter morning long ago. Come along, now. We are here to search for a boy called Dickens. He won't be easy to find. The fog has crept in, silent as a ghost, to fold the city in cold, gray arms. Maybe the boy is down by the river--the thick, black Thames. There are ragged children here, to be sure, scrambling for bits of copper and wood to sell. Or maybe he's dashing into that schoolroom along with the other lads, their cheeks pink from the cold and crumbs of hot buns still on their lips.
Oh, look! There he is--that skinny twelve-year-old, huddled in a doorway, wearing a worn, patched jacket. He is watching the schoolboys with hungry eyes. But though he'd like something to eat, he longs for their books even more. Almost all of his own books, which he loved so well, were lugged to the pawnshop long ago.
Suddenly Dickens is gone.
Hurry! Let's not lose him in the twisting, turning alleys.
There he is, running to that run-down rickety house by the river. Are we brave enough to follow him?

A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson is such a fun book. It is informative, but it's also creative! There's just something so inviting, so engaging about it! I really love the narrative tone of this one.

In this picture book, readers are introduced--albeit briefly--to a young Charles Dickens. Readers see just a day or two, nothing more, from an important time in Dickens' life.

I definitely love this one! It's just beautifully written. What do you think? Do the opening pages make you want to read this one?

Read A Boy Called Dickens

• If you want a non-intimidating introduction to Charles Dickens
• If you're a fan of Charles Dickens and are always looking for more to enjoy
• If you are interested in Victorian England, particularly London
• If you are interested in what it was like to be a child during this time period

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Scored (YA)

Scored. Lauren McLaughlin. 2011. Random House. 230 pages.

Somerton was poor, but it was also scored, and had been for twenty-one years. It was a trial town, having signed on when Score Corp was still beta-testing the software and offering its services for free--including the smart cams, or "eyeballs," as the kids called them. Shiny black spheres two inches in diameter, they dangled like Christmas ornaments from street lights and tree branches. They weren't hidden, that wasn't the idea. You were supposed to know they were there and behave accordingly.

Imani LeMonde, our heroine, starts out with a good score--a great score actually--a 92. But the pact she made with her best friend, Cady Fazio, years before may be about to pull her down.

They made a pact to stay friends no matter what. No matter what their scores were, no matter what gang they were told to be friends with, no matter what any one thought. Friends. Forever. Everyone else is happy to stay within their peer group. Someone with a score of 98 would never ever speak to someone with a score of 92. Someone with a score of 76 wouldn't speak to someone scored 68.

Scores are required--or at least thought to be required--to function in the world. Your score determines your future. If you'll go on to college. If you'll be trained in a profession. If you'll be spending your life in the military.

It is oh-so-easy to lower your score. And nearly impossible to raise it. So they've been told time and time again.

Cady has been keeping something from her best friend, Imani, thinking that what her friend doesn't know will protect her. That Imani's score couldn't possibly be effected...so long as she doesn't know who Cady's been spending time with. So Imani is in for quite a shock...the day the newest scores are revealed.

But not everyone in town, not everyone in the school, in the system, is comfortable with the scoring system, the scoring software. And Imani's teacher, Mr. Carol, is one of them. He has his class write essays about the scores. For those scored individuals in his class, he assigns them to write about why the system is unfair and doesn't work. And for the unscored students in his class, he assigns them to write about the strengths of the system. Why the system works in society.

Imani teams up with Diego Londis, a boy without a score. And what she learns may just change her life...

I definitely liked this dystopian novel.  It was an enjoyable read. Imani was a great character, a good narrator. Her friends weren't as developed as she was. And her love interest wasn't as developed as he could have been. But. It was still a good novel, an interesting novel with an interesting premise.

Read Scored

• If you love dystopian fiction
• If you like futuristic stories or science fiction 
• If you like coming-of-age stories
• If you like novels with a school setting 
• If you're looking for books with biracial characters where race isn't an issue
• If the premise of being 'scored' for who you are intrigues you. 'Who are you' meaning what you say, what you do, who you hang out with, where you go, etc. The choices you make in your day-to-day life. The cameras are almost everywhere. The score is about your character, your reputation, etc.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Sunday Salon: Watching In the Beginning

Last week I talked about the Babylon 5 movie, The Gathering. This week I'm sharing my thoughts on the Babylon 5 movie In the Beginning.

But before I do, I want to ask you a question. How do you feel about prequels? That is, how do you feel about prequels written/filmed years after the start of a series? Should they be watched chronologically--placing In The Beginning before The Gathering, before season one--or should they be watched after the first four seasons? (Since the movie aired just weeks before the start of season five). Star Wars, of course, comes to mind here as well. Should you start watching with Episode IV or Episode I?

I wanted to watch In the Beginning after viewing "War Without End". If you've seen War Without End--a two-part episode from season three which sees the ever-brief return of Jeffrey Sinclair--then you probably know why I felt it fit there beautifully. For within that episode, viewers see a forward-time-flash. We see Londo, as Emperor, seventeen years in the future. And it is this older-but-not-particularly-wiser Londo Mollari that narrates In the Beginning. Londo is telling the story of the Earth-Minbari war to two children who interrupt him on a very bad day, it is this that provides the framework for the story. But MOST of the story takes place in the past. A little over a decade before the opening of the Babylon 5 station, before the events of The Gathering.

I loved this movie. I did. I just loved it. I think one of my favorite things was seeing a young(er) Londo as an ambassador to Earth. We've had glimpses--throughout the show--of what Delenn did during the war, of what Sinclair did during the war, of what Sheridan did during the war, and I remember hearing Susan talk about losing her brother in the war, and we knew that Dr. Franklin was put in a difficult position during the war--about his medical research, his notes, but this was the first time--at least that I recall--that we learn what Londo (and G'Kar) were doing. So that was nice to learn something new. And it was nice to SEE it all come together. Not just as conversations, not just as flashes or nightmares. But to see everything all together.

The movie had some great scenes! It did. And I think, overall, it was very well done.

The prologue to In The Beginning:



Londo speaking admirably about the humans fighting the war:



The president's battle of the line speech:



Earth Force Lexington Vs. Minbari Black Star (How Sheridan got his nickname!)

One of the BEST videos ever that covers In The Beginning AND the first four seasons of B5.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Diamond in the Desert (MG)

A Diamond in the Desert. Kathryn Fitzmaurice. 2012. February 2012. Penguin. 256 pages.

Gila River was the place where my eight-year-old sister, Kimi, learned to go to the bathroom with a white cotton pillowcase pulled over her head. It was Mama who came up with the idea after a week of Kimi refusing to go.
The pillowcase, Mama said, took the place of the walls and doors that weren't in the latrine, and gave some privacy from others sitting close by trying to use the bathroom, too.
"No one will see you through it," Mama promised. "Yes, you'll be able to breathe. The air can get in."
Then she stood for three long minutes with the pillowcase over her own head to prove this.
"But what if it takes me more than three minutes in the latrine?" said Kimi.
Mama didn't answer. Instead, she pulled the pillowcase back over her head, sat down on the concrete floor, knees bent, shoulders curled in. Stayed there until the desert bats came out and the sky turned dark orange.
Kimi walked a circle around her, and you could see her deciding that this idea might work.
"Can you still breathe?"
And each time Kimi asked, Mama nodded. But I don't think Mama was taking all that time to show Kimi she could breathe. I think Mama was hiding the sadness she didn't want Kimi to see. (1-2)

I loved, loved, loved this book. It was such a GREAT book. I absolutely LOVED the writing--it was so beautiful, so practically perfect in every way.

I LOVED the characters. I did. As much as I enjoyed the main character--the narrator--a young boy named Tetsu, I just LOVED a minor character called Horse. Oh, how I loved him--I really felt for him. I felt for so many of the characters.

And the story itself was just wonderfully compelling. A Diamond in the Desert is set in a Japanese internment camp in Arizona during World War II. Tetsu's family is just one of many, many Japanese families forced to live in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

At this particular camp, Gila River, Tetsu is one of many who joins a baseball team. Playing baseball is one of the ways they can still feel normal. Many, many things have changed since America entered the war, and they may not have many freedoms, many joys, in this camp. But baseball. Well, it encourages them, gives them hope.

Kyo's Papa brought a bat to the field one night. He picked up small rocks from the pile of cleared-away stones, then threw them one by one into the air like they were baseballs, hitting them as far as he could.
Kyo, Ben, and I, we started running after them.
We fielded those rocks like we were playing a World Series game, and we didn't care how many times we crashed into each other, or how dirty we got, or even about skinned elbows.
We didn't care about the mess hall closing for dinner or torn pants, or the hole in my shoe getting bigger.
We just wanted to make the greatest catches ever in the whole history of baseball. And that night, each of us did. (84)

But. This book is not just about boys playing baseball. It is SO MUCH MORE than that. This book has heart and soul. This book has depth. It is just so rich. It's beautiful, capturing your heart almost from the start. This is a book that completely wowed me.

Read A Diamond in the Desert

• If you are looking for a great children's book; the quality of this one is amazing!
• If you enjoy historical fiction
• If you enjoy stories set during World War II
• If you are looking to read more about the Japanese Internment camps in the U.S.
• If you're a baseball fan
• If you're NOT a baseball fan

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews