A Review of Wonder by RJ Palacio

The YA novel Wonder, by RJ Palacio, is the story of August Pullman, an 11 year old boy who happens to have been born with a confluence of genetic abnormalities that result in his facial features being severely under- and incorrectly formed. Auggie is otherwise a normal child, he is not developmentally delayed; in fact, he's particularly intelligent and able to understand completely why other children run away screaming when he comes around. Auggie has been homeschooled his whole life until his parents decide to put him in an exclusive New York City prep- right into Middle school. As if life weren't difficult enough, he has to start at an age when school is the toughest socially. His father first argues against this, saying Auggie is like a "lamb to the slaughter", a phrase which Auggie looks up and fortuitously applies to his current situation. Auggie does go to school and makes friends. Summer and Jack Will are two children Auggie becomes closest to in the school and he falls in and out with them throughout the story. Most interestingly, the story is told from multiple viewpoints, all of them children, none of them the adults who appear regularly. The adults are not portrayed as impotent, clueless or overly-enthusiastic, which is refreshing. They are portrayed as caring and interested, for the most part. The change in perspectives gives the reader a real sense of how Auggie views himself, but also how others view him; it's not all pity, as the reader- and Auggie himself- might assume. Both Jack Will and Summer have their turn, again fortuitously, as they become central to the story and move back out again. Also, Via, Auggie's older, high school aged sister, has an opportunity to share. This is one of the more interesting views, as Via- who has always been Auggie's champion- begins high school and must struggle with changes of her own. Via's boyfriend Justin and her friend Miranda have their stories to tell as well. We see how difficult the lives of these other children are- Jack, Summer, Miranda and Justin, and we can understand that although Auggie may be unusual on the outside, he has a terrific home life- something that not everyone else has. The author did a fine job of not writing Auggie as someone to be pitied. In fact, it seemed that both Miranda and Justin were more pitiful as it were- families who seemed uninterested in them as people and who were never around. This book was trying to give several messages, and while they were clear, the author never clobbered the reader over the head with them. I also enjoyed Mr. Browne's precepts (a concept taught to his students; each month a famous precept was introduced and discussed). Mr. Browne encouraged his students to live by these ideals and to understand the meaning behind them. He also asked his students to write one of their own and mail it to him over the summer. These are included at the end of the book and give a nice closing to the story. In all, I found this book to be an uplifting read, one that teaches lessons, to be sure, but also one that makes the reader feel good. I would recommend this book to all readers.

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A Review of The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

The Dovekeepers is a sweeping historical novel set in ancient Judea during the time of the Roman siege on the mountain Masada. The story is told from the perspective of four women who have escaped the Roman soldiers in their hometowns and have come to the Jewish settlement at Masada for refuge. Each of these women, some related to one another, all holding secrets that intertwine them in each other's lives, is a strong feminine force. They are tough ladies, reflecting the times and the role of women, Jewish women especially, in those times. The book is beautifully, if hauntingly written. The character's lives are gripping and shocking; themes of love, abandonment, loss, child death, war, rape and murder. Despite this, I was not as drawn in to the book as I had hoped or expected to be. It was an enjoyable read, but at times a bit boring. Although each of these characters is a Jew, and therefore destined to be annihilated by the advancing Roman army, bent on ridding the world of Jews, they seemed particularly steeped in mysticism and magic, probably a very accurate rendering of certain sects of Jews living in that place and time. This book is not religious in nature, but there were many references to angels and praying, prayers and Adonai (Hebrew for God). It still seemed removed from religion, per se, and focused more on the culture of the time. Women were certainly not respected or given many rights. These women seem to triumph over their lack of rights as much as they can, and try their best to stand for and love each other, even when they are messing things up. I would recommend this book, as I thought it a worthwhile read.

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A review of Defending Jacob by William Landay

Is it possible to inherit violence through your family genes? That is the central question in the novel Defending Jacob. Jacob Barber, age 14, is accused of the heinous murder of a classmate, Ben Rifkin. The story is narrated by Jacob's father Andy, an assistant DA in Newton, MA. Andy and Laurie, Jacob's parents, are in the beginning convinced of Jacob's innocence. As the story unfolds, information is revealed, both about Andy's bloody family history and Jacob's early childhood, that suggest he may not be innocent of this crime. The story is told in parts, running through a transcript of a Grand Jury proceeding taking place well after Jacob's trial for murder. Information is parceled out piece by piece in this way, as well as through the general storytelling of the plot. In the beginning, in fact up to half way through the book, I was struck by several aspects of Mr. Landay's writing. First, it is apparent that the author is himself a lawyer. He overexplains the process of the law over and over to the point where I was skimming sections just to get past the boring explanations. They were unnecessary. Another drawback to this novel is that the reader is hard pressed to find one likable character. Andy Barber is a head-in-the-sand kind of guy. He is so busy ignoring his low origins that he fails to notice either his wife or his son in a real way. He has no idea who they are. I didn't care for Jacob, although a character with as many issues as he has is obviously not going to be likable. I should have been able to like Laurie, however, or at least some of the secondary characters. There wasn't one in the bunch I enjoyed. In fact, it appeared that the author went out of his way to make them unlikable, especially in the case of Neil Loguidice (and yes, it was difficult to pronounce this name, which the reader had to read over and over as Mr. Loguidice is a main character) the next Assistant DA and the one who prosecutes Jacob. There were several other things I strongly disliked about this novel. It was only in the last 1/4 of the book that it got interesting. You would think a court case about murder would be more exciting, but it truly was not. The author did a poor job of writing the dialogue, especially in the first half of the book. It was very awkward and clunky. I had to reread sections to try and capture a flow in the wording, and it just wasn't there. Not enjoying the writing or the story makes it very difficult for me to want to finish a book. I kept on because I assumed there would be some payout at the end. There was (I won't give anything away here), but I didn't quite feel it was worth so much reading that isn't fun. I would not recommend this book, as I didn't enjoy it much.