the book trail: becoming naomi leon

the book trail’s guest host this month, kt larson, is a children’s librarian and young adult author living, writing, reading, and strawberry-soup making in davis, california.
here’s what she has to say about her pick for december.

Ride this month’s book trail from Lemon Tree, CA to Oaxaca, Mexico with Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw in Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan. Naomi and her brother Owen live with their Gram in Avocado Acres trailer park and face the kind of trials you’d have if you were 11 and had to wear polyester clothes that your grandma sewed for you and had four strange sounding names instead of the normal two. These trials pale, though, when Naomi’s mother (absent for the last 7 years) shows up, demanding custody of just Naomi–not her brother. What can Naomi and Gram do to keep their little family together? (I’ll give you a hint–it involves radishes, a far-away father, Christmas, and little animals carved out of Ivory soap.)

This book is a quick-moving, little read–just 240 pages. But it packs a punch, I promise. I hope you’ll join me!

A few links, if I haven’t convinced you yet:
an amazon review
a slideshow of radishes
pam munoz ryan’s (the author’s) website

a girl of the limberlost

this is one of those “coming of age” novels that i clung to as i fumbled and stumbled my way through junior high and high school. elnora comstock is sassy and bright, empathetic and curious. and those lunches! my tummy dreams of the packed lunches of elnora comstock.

and occasionally, when no one is looking, i still fancy myself with very long hair and a penchant for gathering moths.

the true confessions of charlotte doyle

i just finished this delightful, delightful little ditty by avi. it’s a scrumptiously told story of murder and adventure on the high seas.

the heroine is a surprise: completely real, honest, beset by common hiccups, but ultimately triumphant.

the story also is a surprise: nothing predictable or pedestrian, the writing fresh and arresting.

i’m keeping this one on my shelves.

peter and the starcatchers

i have lots of ways to combat the silence of being a stay at home mom. and when i say silence, i don’t mean that there aren’t any noises. it’s the silence of loneliness. don’t get me wrong, i love spending time with my little guy, but when i wish that i had someone to talk to (and my sister doesn’t answer her phone), i turn on a book on tape. suddenly my house is filled with friends and voices and swashbuckling adventure. i listen to books when i fold the clothes and clean the spit-up off the bathroom floor and make the bread. more! »

howl

stephenie meyer has done it again. i’ve spent all morning debating whether i would sooner date a werewolf or a vampire.

it seems to me a tricky question, but bella, the heroine of eclipse doesn’t seem to be having any trouble deciding.

now, go ahead and cast stones at me, but i’m a parent of a future teenager and i can’t help twisting out the moral implications of young adult fiction. and when it comes right down to it, i really have a problem with edward, specifically the relationship between him and bella. it seems to be built around all the wrong things: looks, fate, muscles, curiosity. more! »