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Friendship

The Island of the Sea Women

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The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

This book is a One Maryland One Book selection for 2020.

This historical fiction novel is set on the island of Jeju in Korea. Over many decades, beginning with the Japanese occupation during the 1930 – 1940’s and during World War II and the Korean War.
During this turbulent time in history, two young girls Young-sook and Mi-ja, both from different backgrounds bond. Their close friendship begins over their love of the sea and working in their villages’ all-female diving collective. The haenyeo woman are trained from a young age to expand their lungs and go diving on the ocean floor to harvest food. Their livelihood and traditions are intertwined. Their diving skills are handed down for generations.
Mi-ja, a city born orphan living nearby with a neglectful aunt and uncle is caught stealing food in the fields of Jeju by Young-sook and her mother. Her mother as head of the collective, decides to take Mi-ja on and teaches her alongside Young-sook to dive. The girls become lifelong friends enduring many life altering events that impact their lives growing up.
The political unrest and unspeakable tragedies inflicted upon the villagers are part of the horrors of war. The impact on their island from famine, to extreme punishment, and demands of the opposing government regimes are inflicted upon the villagers who struggle to comply.

Young-sook and Mi-ja endure impossible choices that tear their friendship apart causing disappointment, anger and judgement that take generations to understand and forgive.

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Railway Jack

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Railway Jack: the True Story of an Amazing Baboon by KT Johnston, illustrated by Cesar Samaneigo
Format: Book
Who It’s For:  Kids

Railway Jack is the true story of South African Railway employee Jim Wide and the baboon who became first his service animal, then his best friend.

Long, long ago Jim Wide worked as a railway inspector for South African Railroad, but after he lost his legs in an accident, he couldn’t do that job anymore. Jim got a new job as a railroad signalman, the person pulling the levers that switch trains to the right tracks for their journeys. He made a cart to sit on which helped him get to work and inspect the switches, and with his new wooden legs he could stand and walk a bit. But Jim struggled to do some tasks by himself, both at home and at the station. He needed help, but what could he do?  He bought a baboon of course, a very intelligent baboon named Jack! Jack learned fast and worked hard, quickly mastering water-pumping, taking out trash and sweeping floors. He pushed Jim’s cart to the station morning and evening, jumping on the back for a ride down the hill!  Amazingly, Jack even began to recognize train signals and learned which lever to pull to switch the trains. However, one day a passenger was horrified to see a “monkey” pulling levers at the station and reported them to the railroad. The railway sent a man to investigate, who tested Jack carefully. Would he pass? Would Jim and Jack get to keep their jobs or be fired? Find out when you read Railway Jack: The True Story of an Amazing Baboon.

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Evvie Drake Starts Over

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by Linda Holmes

Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her house in small town Maine, recently widowed people in town, including her best friend Andy, thinks the death of her husband keeps her locked inside and she doesn’t bother to correct them.  In New York, Dean a former major-league pitcher and Andy’s childhood friend, is struggling on the baseball mound he can’t throw straight anymore, and he can’t figure out why.  An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to regroup and figure out what is going on with his mind, body and soul. When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie’s house, the two make a deal. Dean won’t ask about Evvie’s late husband, and Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken, what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more.  With broke bonds, broken plans and secrets they’ve kept to themselves, they’ll need a lot of help from family and friends to help them maneuver through their life challenges.  I thought this book was a pleasant read a little sad, charming and at times funny.  It shows that life is not always easy and that sometimes you will have challenges in life that you will eventually have to deal with, but through friendship and love there is always a chance at a happier life ..

 

https://catalog.somd.lib.md.us/polaris/view.aspx?title=evvie+drake+starts+over

bookauthorholmes

 

 

 

Spider in a Glider

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Spider in a Glider by Lesley Sims and David Semple
Format: Book
Who It’s For: Kids

Spider in a Glider is another in the wonderful series of Usborne Phonics Readers. With a great rhyming structure and a terrific story this one will keep your kiddos totally entertained! Spider, a highly accomplished string-spinner is not satisfied. More than anything she wants to fly. But even with her beautifully spun wings, it is just not working. Her friend Beetle has the same passion for flight and he invites Spider to join him in his spiffy homemade glider. They climb aboard and strap in. Dragonfly tows the glider up high in the air! They’re flying!! The two friends loop and glide and enjoy the amazing view, until a sudden thunderstorm pops up. Your littles will love reading about Spider and Beetle’s narrow escape and ongoing friendship. Grownups will also like the helpful phonics information in the back of the book and everyone will enjoy the clear colorful illustrations full of movement and joy.   If you liked Spider in a Glider, try Crow in the Snow, or Bee Makes Tea!

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Dragon Post

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Dragon Post by Emma Yarlett
Format: Book
Who Its For: Children

One day Alex finds a dragon. He’s always wanted one (and who hasn’t, really?) but being an intelligent and thoughtful boy, he quickly realizes he’s a bit over his head in this dragon-rearing adventure. So he reaches out for help with his dragon questions by writing letters to various dragon “experts” and soon receives letters back. Your readers will love opening the mail that Alex receives which are included in the book, and reading the wonderful, quirky replies. Alex follows their helpful instructions as his little friend quickly grows. His kindly experts and friends help Alex to make the best decisions along the way for himself and his dragon. A grand celebration of letter writing, friendship and of course, dragons!

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From Twinkle, With Love

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Recommended Book
From Twinkle, With Love by  Sandhya Menon
Publication Date: May 22, 2018
Format: Book or ebook
Who it’s for: Teens

“In this delightful romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi, told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?” – Publisher’s blurb

This took a bit for me to get into. It was soooooooo High School. The crush, the BFF drama, the awkwardness, the ‘Woe is me’ angst, etc. So very HS, so stereotypical; it made me cringe, laugh, and smh. I would have stopped reading it by like chapter two, if not for Books for the Beast (a YA reader’s advisory conference in Maryland) and the fact her first book got so much praise. I powered through.

It was very amusing with a couple of lil life lessons to boot. If this was a Disney Channel movie, I could have made it through without cringing so much or smh at the mistakes they made. I still would have lol at the awkward moments. Despite all those things it was a great read.

The Indian culture that was in the book was completely natural and did not feel forced. It was just a part of Twinkle’s life, her story. The gay friends felt forced, like an afterthought. I liked the text messages and emails. They made it feel epistolary. The supposed diary entries where Twinkle is writing to directors never really felt like letters. They did not really feel like a diary entries, either. Only at the beginning of the diary entry and when she closed the “letter” did it ever feel like she was writing a letter to somebody.  It felt more like just a first POV novel.

I was considering reading her debut novel but when I was talking about From Twinkle, With Love with a coworker, she said this plot sounds almost identical to When Dimple Met Rishi. Now if they made movies from her novels on Disney Channel, I would watch them all and enjoy. If I was in middle/high school and liked romance novels, I would read all her novels as well. Def geared for upper middle school and High School girls.

Read a High School Rom-Com starring a cute Indian Girl!